Zimbabwe Parliament says permanent secretary for mines should be fired within a month

The Permanent Secretary for Mines Francis Gudyanga should be fired within a month for aiding illicit financial outflows from the country’s diamonds and poor corporate governance, the parliamentary committee on Mines and Energy said yesterday.

In its report on the consolidation of diamond mining companies in Zimbabwe, the committee said the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe had lost US$4 million through illicit outflows in a deal in which Gudyanga was involved.

Committee chairman Daniel Shumba said the money was transferred through an agricultural company, Pedstock, to an unnamed person residing outside Zimbabwe.

The director of the company Jackson Dror admitted that he was being used to transfer the money.

Gudyanga admitted that the money was being transferred to a foreigner but said he could not disclose the identity of the person because this would “jeopardise the State security operations aimed at curbing leakages and smuggling of minerals”.

President Robert Mugabe at one time said Zimbabwe had lost $15 billion through illicit transfers from diamond sales.

The committee learnt that Gudyanga had “both personal and official links with Pedstock, where on several occasions he purchased or benefitted from agricultural equipment from or by the company”.

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