Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa Appoints Sanctioned Tycoon Tagwirei to Investment Portfolio

HARARE – Petroleum tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who remains under British and American sanctions, has been appointed to cabinet and handed the job of courting investors. President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday split the finance ministry in two. Mthuli Ncube is now strictly finance minister, while the old ministry’s economic development and investment promotion functions pass to Tagwirei. It is thought the new ministry will supervise the state-owned enterprises now held under the Mutapa Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund, as well as the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA). The Sakunda Holdings boss’ appointment was announced by chief secretary to the president and cabinet Martin Rushwaya, who said it took effect “immediately.” The post places him at the heart of the economy – the latest rung on a fast climb for a man who reportedly harbours ambitions of succeeding Mnangagwa. Once a major donor to Zanu PF, Tagwirei has steadily moved from bankrolling the party to shaping governance. He was first made an adviser to the president, then promoted to the Zanu PF central committee, and was appointed a senator last month. The United States first sanctioned Tagwirei and Sakunda Holdings on August 5, 2020. The US Treasury alleged that he used “opaque business dealings” and his relationship with Mnangagwa to grow his business empire dramatically after Robert Mugabe’s fall in 2017, winning state contracts and favoured access to hard currency. It further alleged that he gave expensive cars to senior government officials in return. Treasury also pointed to a 2019 report commissioned by the Zimbabwean government, which found that Tagwirei and his associates could not account for at least US$3 billion disbursed under the Command Agriculture programme, a state farm subsidy managed by Sakunda. Britain followed in July 2021, imposing an asset freeze and travel ban under its global anti-corruption sanctions regime. The UK government alleged that Sakunda redeemed Zimbabwe government Treasury Bills at up to ten times their official value, a practice it said accelerated the devaluation of the local currency and pushed up the price of essentials such as food. In March 2024, when Washington terminated its Zimbabwe sanctions programme, Tagwirei was among those kept on the blacklist under the Global Magnitsky programme. The US Treasury said Mnangagwa himself had benefited from Tagwirei’s corrupt network. His wife, Sandra Mpunga, who the US says co-owns Sakunda, is also sanctioned. The appointment sits awkwardly with the brief. US sanctions freeze Tagwirei’s American assets and generally bar Americans from dealing with him, while Britain’s freeze and travel ban stop him from doing business in, or travelling to, one of Zimbabwe’s most important potential sources of Western capital. A minister whose job is to woo foreign money may find that investors from the two countries are legally or reputationally unable to take his calls, let alone sign deals he oversees. The problem is sharper because of what he now controls. The Mutapa Investment Fund’s portfolio of state enterprises and ZIDA, the gateway for foreign investors, would both fall under a man western governments have publicly accused of corruption – a difficult sell for banks, development lenders and companies with their own compliance rules Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *