By Staff Reporter
Harare- Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) will train integrity committees to be established at four Mutapa Investment Fund entities as part of measures to strengthen oversight of state resources.
The committees will be established at Mutapa Gold Resources, Mutapa Base Metals, Mutapa Energy Minerals and Mutapa Platinum Group following integrity pledges signed by their chief executives in Harare on Monday.
ZACC executive secretary Shepherd Manhivi said the committees would provide an additional layer of oversight, with the pledges covering resource management, bribery and abuse of office.
“Today we are meeting institutions that are under the Mutapa Investment Fund to foster a culture of integrity, a culture of transparency, a culture of honesty within their organisations,” Manhivi said.
He said the commitments were voluntary and would involve the companies’ management and staff.
“The CEOs fully committed themselves to this drive. We have agreed to establish integrity committees after signing the pledges, so we are on the right track,” he said.
The initiative comes as Mutapa entities oversee major investments and operations in Zimbabwe’s mining and energy sectors, involving investors, contractors and other service providers.
Mutapa Gold Resources chief executive Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya said the pledge would help assure the public that proceeds from national resources were being properly accounted for.
“It is important that we sign this pledge to give assurance to the people of Zimbabwe that the resources of the country that they have entrusted to us are being looked after and the revenues and proceeds arising from them are accounted for fully,” he said.
Maseva-Shayawabaya said the company also had a whistleblower facility through which employees and members of the public could report suspected wrongdoing.
At Mutapa Platinum Group, chief executive Munashe Shava said the measures were particularly important as the company expands its operations and works with contractors and third parties.
The company is developing a processing plant through contractors, making procurement and contracting key areas requiring strong governance, he said.
“Platinum is a strategic mineral, and as such it should be treated with ethical leadership and proper governance so that we sustainably create value not only for the current generations but for the generations to come,” Shava said.
Mutapa Base Metals chief executive Godwin Gambiza said the ZACC partnership came as the company prepares for a major investment transaction.
“We are currently working on a transaction with a big investor. With ZACC coming in, we will strengthen our governance systems and boost integrity,” he said.
Mutapa Energy Minerals chief executive Innocent Rukweza said the company would proceed with establishing its integrity committee.
The measures are part of efforts to strengthen governance and accountability across Mutapa entities managing state assets and investments.
