MNANGAGWA’S MUTAPA INVESTMENT FUND: A SCHEME FOR LOOTING?
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is back in the spotlight due to new worries about the rebranded Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), which was once known as the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). Critics are saying that this is a carefully planned scheme, similar to what Russian oligarchs do, to let those with political power grab valuable state assets at low prices and later sell them for big profits.
Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti is one of the loudest voices against the MIF. He says it is unconstitutional, illegal, and designed in a way that hides what is really going on. According to him, the Fund is built to allow looting on a large scale. Biti shared these concerns in an interview with The NewsHawks, explaining that the structure of the MIF is made to make state-owned assets easy to sell off without anyone knowing the full details. He strongly believes that the Mutapa Investment Fund is very different from what a real sovereign wealth fund should be.
Biti explained that a normal sovereign wealth fund is a pool of money made from extra government reserves or resources. This money is then invested in things like stocks, bonds, real estate, or even gold to create wealth for both the current and future generations of a country. He gave the example of Norway, which has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, valued at $1.4 trillion. He emphasized that the MIF does not operate like Norway’s fund, which is well-known for helping its citizens for years to come.
Biti also pointed out that Zimbabwe has world-class deposits of resources such as gold, platinum, diamonds, chrome, and now lithium. These resources, however, are non-renewable, meaning once they are used up, they cannot be replaced. Back in 2014, Zimbabwe set up a proper sovereign wealth fund to make sure that these resources benefit not just the current generation, but also future ones. The plan was to collect royalties from these resources and invest them to grow the nation’s wealth. However, the shift from the Sovereign Wealth Fund to the Mutapa Investment Fund has raised suspicions.
Biti claims that the change has made it easier for large-scale looting to happen. He believes that the MIF is nothing more than a plan to steal from the country. According to him, the structure of the MIF is conceptually flawed, meaning it was poorly designed from the start. He said it is unconstitutional, meaning it goes against Zimbabwe’s constitution, and it was created through a presidential decree, which is a decision made by the president without following the usual legal process. This, he argues, violates the laws of the country and goes against the principle of separation of powers, which says that no one part of the government should have too much control.
Biti didn’t hold back in his criticism of Mnangagwa. He said, “We will see grand-scale looting and industrial-scale corruption under this Mutapa Fund.” His statement reflects deep concerns about how the Fund will operate and what it means for Zimbabwe’s future. He believes that the lack of transparency will lead to the misuse of resources meant to benefit all Zimbabweans.
The question remains: Is the MIF really a move to protect Zimbabwe’s future wealth, or is it just another way for those in power to enrich themselves? Biti certainly believes it is the latter, and his warnings are not to be taken lightly. He sees the MIF as a tool for those with political connections to buy valuable assets at very low prices and then sell them later for huge profits, following the same methods used by Russian oligarchs.
As more people become aware of the Mutapa Investment Fund and its operations, the debate about its true purpose is likely to continue. Will the Fund benefit Zimbabwe’s people, or will it be just another way for the powerful to take advantage of the country’s resources? Only time will tell, but for now, the spotlight is on Mnangagwa and his controversial Mutapa Investment Fund.
