Correspondences seen last week show that Minister of Mines and Mining Development Obert Mpofu’s lawyers have refused to respond to Mawere’s request for him to disclose the name of the institution that has allegedly taken over ownership of SMM Holdings Zimbabwe (SMMHZ).
Through his lawyers, Mawere had in a November 9 2011 letter, gave Mpofu up to November 14 to disclose the name of the institution that has allegedly taken over ownership of SMMHZ.
But Mpofu’s lawyers last week said its client was a respondent in a matter before the court, hence cannot respond to inquiries. Mawere had asked Mpofu to furnish them with a written undertaking that he would not instruct the ZMDC to implement the proposed takeover of Shabanie Mashava and African Associated (AA) Mines.
In a letter dispatched on Monday, Mpofu’s lawyers, Dube, Manikai & Hwacha, said the matter is before the courts, adding that “in any event, it is not clear on what basis you demand information from our client”.
In response, Mawere’s lawyers Kyle Attorneys wrote that Mpofu did not furnish the undertakings sought in the November 9 letter and that their client’s rights remains reserved.
“We are unaware of any matter which is currently pending in any court including the High Court of Zimbabwe in which the issue of ownership of, and/or the registered shareholding of SMM Holdings (Private) Limited Zimbabwe is to be determined and thus you are required to immediately furnish this firm with copies of the court papers which you refer to and upon which you rely to state that the matter is sub judice, to enable us to advise our client accordingly,” Klye wrote.
SMMHZ was seized from Mawere via the Reconstruction of State Indebted and Insolvent Companies Act (Reconstruction Laws and Regulations), which deemed his companies indebted to the state by owing parastatals.
ZMDC was recently tasked by the ministry of Mines and Mining Development to revive the two mines in Zvishavane and Mashava. This comes after President Robert Mugabe early this year transferred SMM Holdings, currently under reconstruction, to the ministry of Mines from the ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.
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ZMDC has promised to pay the mine workers who have been unpaid in the past two years and has so far ordered an audit.
The latest correspondence is a follow-up to earlier letters written to ZMDC board chairman Godwills Masimirembwa, who said that ZMDC was neither the owner nor registered shareholder of SMM, but was only a statutory body taking instructions from Mpofu.
Mawere is fighting to reclaim his empire arguing that SMMH is owned by SMMH (UK) and that government failed in its attempt to be registered as the shareholders by UK courts.
