OPPOSITION legislators have accused Finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, of ‘clandestinely smuggling’ the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) into the Finance Bill in order to exempt it from paying income tax.
The MP said the MIF operates under a cloud of secrecy as it was exempted from open public procurement procedures unlike other parastatals.
The MIF is Zimbabwe's sovereign wealth fund, driving strategic investments for national growth and economic prosperity.
Established in 2014 under the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act, it was renamed to MIF in September 2023 through Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023.
The MIF was later exempted from open public procurement procedures as announced in General Notice 1546 of 2023.
In Parliament last week, opposition legislator, Casten Matewu, questioned Ncube why amendments to the Finance Bill now included the MIF.
“The Mutapa Investment Fund is already exempt from certain activities such as procurement,” Matewu said.
“The way they do business is totally different from any other parastatal in the government.
- Budget dampens workers’ hopes
- Govt issues $24 billion Covid-19 guarantees
- Letter to my People:They have no answers for Nero’s charisma
- ZMX to enhance farm profitability
Keep Reading
“Now, can the Honourable minister convince us why the Mutapa Investment Fund should not be paying income tax?.”
Another opposition lawmaker, Corban Madzivanyika, raised similar concerns.
“What I wanted to add is, is it possible Honourable minister, that if we accept the Mutapa Investment Fund to exempt the income received by the Mutapa Investment Fund, can we put an additional clause to say, provided that the Mutapa Investment Fund shall send, every quarter, to Parliament, the audited financial statements, or every year, the audited financial statements?,” he asked.
“It may sound better than to exempt an institution that you know does not declare any dividend: no financial statements, nothing, even on its own website.
“To me, it defies logic. It would be like putting money into the drain.”
Opposition lawmaker, Edwin Mushoriwa, also demanded answers,
“The other thing the Honourable minister needs to explain to this august House is that earlier, during the second reading, we were asking if you recall, since we changed the Sovereign Wealth Fund to the Mutapa Investment Fund, no Bill has come before this House, and we have been using the Finance Bills to make these amendments,” Mushoriwa said,
“So, the question that I need you to answer and explain to us is, what purpose is the clandestine way of bringing the Mutapa Investment Fund into the Finance Bill?
“What purpose does it serve in this Finance Bill?
In his response, Ncube said there was nothing wrong in incorporating into the Mutapa Bill amendments into the Finance Bill.
“We have argued that we would not want to have it pay income tax if it is unnecessary, because the subsidiaries are already paying taxes,” Ncube argued.
“They are not exempt as individual entities. It is just about the top-level fund, not all the entities under it.”
Mutapa, named after an ancient kingdom, has taken over the shares of more than 20 state-owned enterprises.
The jewel in Mutapa’s crown is Kuvimba Mining House, which owns around a dozen gold, lithium, nickel, and platinum mines.
