Zimbabwe stake in Kuvimba to help compensate farmers
Zimbabwe’s government says it was given a stake in Kuvimba Mining House worth $250m to help compensate white farmers for the seizure of their land two decades ago.
The announcement of the donation will deepen controversy around Kuvimba, the ownership of which is disputed. Only two weeks ago, the government said it controlled the firm after buying its assets from a company linked to a tycoon sanctioned by the US.
Kuvimba has been shrouded in controversy since finance minister Mthuli Ncube announced its formation. He said in January the company’s revenue would be used to help pay everything from compensation for evicted white farmers to state worker pensions.
Its assets are the same as those held until at least late 2020 by Sotic International, a company linked to Kudakwashe Tagwirei, an adviser to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Tagwirei was sanctioned by the US treasury in 2020 after allegations of bribing government officials and using political influence to win lucrative state deals.
“On December 18 2020, the government secured $250m towards the compensation process through the donation of a shareholding in equal value in a mining asset Kuvimba Mining House, to a special purpose vehicle specifically created to raise funds for the global compensation agreement,” Zimbabwe’s treasury said. It did not say who donated the stake.
The announcement ascribes a value of $2bn to Kuvimba, the assets of which include gold mines and a stake in a platinum project. The government has said the special-purpose vehicle owns 12.5% of the company. In June, the government paid a $1m dividend to white farmers based on that shareholding.
The statement comes after Bloomberg reported on a trove of e-mails, documents and WhatsApp messages that delineated the links between Tagwirei and Sotic, and the Financial Times and The Sentry followed with reports giving details of the relationship earlier in July.
Documents and communication seen by Bloomberg showed his participation in company decision-making and demonstrated that Tagwirei at least partially controlled Sotic.
On July 6, Kuvimba denied Tagwirei was a shareholder of Kuvimba or was involved in its activities.
David Brown, former CEO of Impala Platinum, is the CEO of both Kuvimba and Sotic. He has said he planned to step down, but gave no date.