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Steelgate' scandal deepens
Mabasa Sasa, The Sunday Mirror (Zimbabwe)
October 01, 2006

http://www.zimmirror.co.zw/sundaymirror/view_news.cfm?storyid=19103

INDUSTRY and international trade minister Obert Mpofu is this week expected to appear before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee to clarify two reportedly conflicting statements he made before Parliament on the circumstances that led to Ziscosteel's near-collapse.

The House Committee on Industry and International Trade is also expected to request that the minister disclose the names of Members of Parliament and government officials said to have improperly benefited from deals with the steel company.

The chairman of the Committee, Enock Porusingazi said they had tasked Mpofu to divulge the results of investigations into Ziscosteel in addition to full disclosure on personalities involved.

Porusingazi, who is also the Zanu PF MP for Chipinge South, said this would aid them in getting to the bottom of the 'Steelgate saga' and would go a long way in resuscitating the ailing steel and iron giant.

He said: "Our major concern right now is Ziscosteel itself but this is not to say that the issue of the minister's statements is of no consequence.

"We have asked him to provide us with the list of people said to have been involved in this issue and we should have them when we meet in Parliament on Tuesday."Porusingazi said only the Committee would have the discretion to take further action depending on the outcome of its investigations.

He added: "We should give the Minister room and if he is prepared to clarify the matter before the Committee it is all fair and fine. I think if he wants to come and apologise for any inconsistencies he should be allowed to do so.

"We're comparing the two verbatim recordings of his submissions and of course, under normal circumstances, if he lied, and I stress the 'if', then Parliament obviously would not tolerate that."

Last week, Mpofu appeared to backtrack on earlier oral submissions before the Committee incriminating unnamed MPs and State officials in the plundering of Ziscosteel and the collapse of a US$400 million deal with Indian concern Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL).

At that time, Mpofu said a list of those implicated had been compiled and the ball was now in anti-corruption minister Paul Mangwana's court to investigate the issue.

However, Mpofu now says he was misquoted and that companies linked to MPs and government officials benefited from deals with the steel maker while the latter incurred financial losses rather than the influential persons having actually ripped off the company.

In addition to this, sources said there was a powerful lobby for minister Mangwana to furnish Parliament with the findings of his investigations and those by economic crimes watchdog, the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI).

"The argument is that apart from bringing to book any culprits, there is need for the air to be cleared so that the State and private players can start exploring how the steel giant (Ziscosteel) can be recapitalised so that normal operations commence.

"As things stand, the fortunes of the company remain in limbo as no one wants to sink any resources into Ziscosteel. The current state of affairs is not conducive for investment," the sources said.

This paper was informed that there appeared to be "discord over how to proceed"; though it was likely "full disclosures would be made before Parliament by all interested parties in the near future".

They added that there was "great pressure" for the Committee to call back Mpofu in particular and formally raise concerns over his statements and the sate of Zisco within the coming week.

Information at hand points to the emergence of two camps; one calling for swift action while the other is advocating caution as any arrests could further complicate matters and affect the company's and the country's image negatively.

The former group is of the belief that corruption at key institutions like Ziscosteel compromised the success of the NEDPP and arrests would restore investor confidence.

The sources added: "Soon after Mpofu's second presentation to Parliament last week, various stakeholders informed the Committee chairman that they would like to see the issue further explored.

"They are of the view that Mpofu's statements gravely contradicted each other and this was unacceptable from a Minister giving evidence under oath on such a high-profile case of national importance," the sources said.

They added that while there was no apparent predilection towards the frankness of either one of the two statements, "it was obvious one of the two was not true and the claim that he was misquoted on the earlier submissions was not watertight".

Last week, Porusingazi was quoted in the media saying: "We are going to the stage where we will engage the minister of anti-corruption to find out what level the colleagues in the House have been implicated and if there are any, we will then make our recommendations."

A tough talking Mangwana responded: "Very soon we will take action and police will make arrests of those who were involved in corruption at Ziscosteel irrespective of their political or social status.

"It doesn't matter if they are ministers or MPs. As long as they were involved they will be arrested. If we find that a crime was committed by whoever we will call in the police and provide evidence for prosecution."

Revelations in Parliament over the past two weeks indicate that Ziscosteel's deal with the Indian firm, GSHL, was as good as dead and buried regardless of how the saga plays out due in part to the erratic supply of coal from Hwange Colliery.

Apparently, GSHL wanted critical suppliers like Hwange and the National Railways of Zimbabwe adequately recapitalised for the deal to be fruitful.

Ziscosteel requires approximately 60 000 tonnes of coal for its operations, but is currently receiving 1 000 tonnes which is just enough to keep its furnaces running.

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