Mines minister Obert Mpofu was privy to the joint venture negotiations between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and Lovemore Kurotwi’s Core Mining, the High Court heard yesterday.
Former ZMDC chief executive officer Dominic Mubaiwa’s lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri told the court no misrepresentations were made to Mpofu when the joint venture agreement between ZMDC and Core Mining was signed.
Mubaiwa is jointly charged with Kurotwi in a $2 billion fraud case.
“It is clear that Mpofu was aware that negotiations were between ZMDC and Core Mining, a shelf company or special vehicle of Benn Steinmeitz Group Resources (BSGR) which had indicated that it preferred investing in Zimbabwe through Core Mining because of political reasons,” said Uriri.
BSGR is an international company based in South Africa. The State alleges Kurotwi and Mubaiwa lied that BSGR would invest $2 billion in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields.
BSGR later pulled out alleging failure by the State to address human rights issues in Marange.
Uriri said Canadile Mining, a joint venture between ZMDC’s Marange Resources and Core Mining, was signed with Mpofu’s full knowledge and no misrepresentations were made.
He said events chronicled by the exhibits tendered in court showed that Mpofu was well aware of the goings-on and could at times even act ahead of the ZMDC board. Uriri said Mpofu even kept some of the developments out of ZMDC’s sight.
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“He wrote this letter to President (Robert) Mugabe signed, ‘Your ever obedient son’, in June 2009 telling him that he had already found investors, BSGR included, and told His Excellency that partnerships were being worked on, yet (at that time) ZMDC was seeking leave for negotiations,” Uriri said.
Uriri said Mpofu also told the new ZMDC board on July 1, 2009 that government had approved three potential investors, but could not name them.
“He met the new board when he had already decided on the investors. He also told the board that he was the man in charge and any information about investors and related enquiries should be addressed to him,” Uriri said.
The State’s star witness, ZMDC chairman Godwills Masimirembwa, said the ZMDC Act empowered the minister to approve joint venture projects on behalf of the government’s mining concern.
High Court judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu asked Masimirembwa what the $2 billion fraud charge was based on when Zimbabwe still had its minerals.
“It was the investment that was lost when Core Mining ended up borrowing $1,5 million from Agribank when they were supposed to bring in foreign money to the country had BSGR met its investment obligation,” Masimirembwa said.
Uriri, however, said the $2 billion investment pledge was never “a fixed figure” and wondered why the State had placed a $2 billion charge yet Mpofu had been advised by ZMDC that the investment partners were supposed to pour in $50 million.
Earlier during the trial Kurotwi, through his lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, said Mpofu only decided to press charges after Kurotwi told Mugabe that Mpofu wanted a $10 million bribe to facilitate the joint venture deal.
The trial continues today.
