Biti rubbishes allegations he invited US sanctions on Kuda Tagwirei
Opposition MDC Alliance Vice President, Tendai Biti has dismissed as “vicious vitriolic attacks” claims by Zanu PF apologists that he influenced the US to sanction fuel mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei in order to undermine Zimbabwe’s controversial Command Agriculture Programme.
The Harare East legislator chairs Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that discussed allegations of Tagwirei and his company, Sakunda Holdings misappropriation of US$3 billion meant for Command Agriculture released between 2017 and 2018.
Last year, it also emerged that the money was unaccounted for by the Agriculture ministry as reported by the Auditor General.
The US recently placed Tagwirei on a targeted sanctions list.
Zanu PF aligned war veterans and farmers have accused Biti of inviting the sanctions on Tagwirei in order to compromise the Command Agriculture Programme.
Biti on Twitter said allegations that Tagwirei misappropriated the funds were raised by the Auditor General adding that attacks on him were “vicious vitriolic.”
“The vicious vitriolic attacks on Parliament and the Public Accounts Committee are uncalled for. The 2017 and 2018 Auditor General Reports exposed massive looting of Command Agriculture resources with Sakunda at the center. Sakunda not Parliament is the problem,” Biti said.
ZBC, recently broadcast farmers and war veterans slamming Biti for allegedly abusing the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts and working to derail the Command Agriculture Programme and inviting sanctions on Tagwirei and his firms.
Gwebi Farmers Association Chair, Andy Mhlanga accused Biti of “working in cahoots with Americans to sabotage agriculture reforms and reverse the land reforms”.
“This time he is reported to have misrepresented facts to his western masters and invited sanctions on Sakunda holdings so that command agriculture is destroyed, this programme has revived the production of maize, wheat, soya beans and various other crops,” Mhlanga told ZBC-TV.
