Mutodi Claims Finance Secretary Is Now Richest Civil Servant Due To Kickbacks, Alleges 5% Of All Treasury Payments

Mutodi Claims Finance Secretary Is Now Richest Civil Servant Due To Kickback Scheme

The Parliament of Zimbabwe has been presented with explosive allegations claiming that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, George Guvamatanga, operates a vast kickback scheme. According to the claims, he demands a percentage of every payment authorised by the Treasury, a practice which has allegedly propelled him to become the wealthiest civil servant in the country. The allegations were made public on Thursday by Energy Mutodi, a Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Budgets, who has since reported receiving threats.

The Alleged Kickback Scheme

Mutodi detailed the accusations in a series of posts on X, stating that he was acting on reports submitted to Parliament.

According to Energy Mutodi, Guvamatanga is accused of demanding between five and ten percent commission on all Treasury payments.

He wrote:

“The Parliament of Zim has received agonising reports that PermSec in the Ministry of Finance Mr George Guvamatanga is receiving 5-10% for every payment done by Treasury.”

Mutodi further alleged that ministries, departments, and contractors that refuse to comply are sidelined financially.

“Contractors, Ministries and Departments refusing to pay Guvamatanga a kick back of at least 5% after receiving Treasury payments have been denied payments for several months even if the funds are budgeted for,” he claimed.

He provided a specific example involving a road construction company, Bitumen.

“One Contractor Bitumen which was contracted to do roads has been asked to pay US$200,000 (R3.6 million) by George for every US$2,000,000 (R36 million) weekly payments he authorises them to receive and they have made several complaints to Members of the Budget Committee at Parliament,” Mutodi alleged.

Alleged Wealth And Parliament Struggles

Mutodi insisted that the alleged scheme has given Guvamatanga enormous personal wealth, far beyond what is possible from a civil service salary.

“GG as he is notoriously called has accumulated more than US$1 billion (R18 billion) becoming the richest civil servant,” Mutodi wrote. “Over the past six months, Parliament itself has struggled to operate after being denied its budgeted funds by George Guvamatanga. A civil servant earning less than US$1,000 (R18,000) GG has more than 5,000 dairy cattle, dairy equipment and several mansions hence the proposed lifestyle audit.”

He further claimed that his committee’s push for accountability has resulted in direct threats against him.

“George has also made threats to send a terror team to deal with the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Budgets Dr Energy Mutodi upon hearing that the Committee was considering carrying out a life audit on him as well as asking for a ZACC probe,” he stated.

A Controversial Accuser

While the allegations have raised eyebrows, Mutodi himself is a controversial figure in Zimbabwean politics. Public records show he was dismissed from his role as Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting Services by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 20 May 2020. His career has been marked by public disputes, and he has previously faced accusations of defrauding civil servants through a housing co-operative.

At the time of writing, there has been no official response from George Guvamatanga or the Ministry of Finance to the allegations.