The common thread among the stories is that of State capture, of how Tagwirei used Trafigura and the Command Agriculture Programme to milk Zimbabwe of billions of United States dollars.
But what is not talked about is that though Tagwirei might be corrupt, his businesses that are under scrutiny are primarily sanctions busting operations, one to provide fuel essential to keep the country running, and the other to help feed the nation, something Zimbabwe has now achieved though one Western news agency tried to give credit to returning white farmers.
The sanctions angle becomes apparent when one looks at two other businessmen named in the Pandora papers-Martin Rushwaya and Billy Rautenbach.
Rushwaya was involved in a germ operation obviously meant to enable the country to sell its diamonds after a concerted effort to thwart Zimbabwe from selling them. The concerted effort even involved declaring the diamonds “blood diamonds” when the original definition did not include diamonds like those mined in Zimbabwe.
Rautenbach was also involved in trying to reduce the cost of fuel imports through his ethanol project and his story was published by a South African-based non-profit organisation Amabhungane.
Though it is not clear who funds the Daily Maverick, some media reports have named Anglo-American Corporation, one of the biggest investors in Zimbabwe at independence, as one of the funders.
The Sentry receives funding from the Open Society of Southern Africa and also from “government agencies”.
OCCRP receives funding from both Luminate and Open Society.
Amabhungane receives funding from both Omidyar and Sorors but Amabhungane is a lot more transparent as it even gives the amounts it got- R3 million from Open Society of South Africa from April 2019 to April 2021 and US$375 000 from Luminate for the period June 2020 to June 2023.
Tagwirei, therefore, might be corrupt and has benefitted immensely from his association with the State, but his biggest crime was to sustain a regime which the United States wants to go to pave way for a friendlier government which will allow US corporations like Caterpillar, Boeing and General Electric to come back to Zimbabwe.
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