Guvamatanga claims he made his millions from private sector

Finance and Economic Development Permanent Secretary, George Guvamatanga, has claimed that he made his wealth from working in the private sector for more than 30 years.

He added that he was a chief executive officer of the Barclays Bank Zimbabwe, long before joining the civil service in November 2018.

He was reacting to social media pictures of a family visit to Victoria Falls using a private jet reportedly celebrating overcoming Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Guvamatanga said he was given a million dollar package when he left Barclays Bank Zimbabwe.

“I spent 30 years with Barclays Bank of which 23 of those were as senior executives and 10 years as the chief executive officer. It is known in the market that when I left I was paid a package running into millions of United States dollars.

“It is also important to note that I left after having successfully put together and led a consortium of managers (at Barclays Bank Zimbabwe) that wanted to acquire the bank and had secured funding for that, although Barclays Plc opted for another buyer,” said Mr Guvamatanga.

When Barclays Bank sold its majority stake in Barclays Bank Zimbabwe to Malawi’s First Merchant Bank Capital in 2017, Guvamatanga agreed to part ways.

“I also remain a businessman with interests spanning real estate, insurance, retail and distribution and farming, which I established before joining the Government.

“I joined Government from the private sector because I felt my experience would help in how Government is run and make a difference” Guvamatanga said.

Guvamatanga, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his son Collins and his wife Auxilia were recently implicated in massive allegations of corruption, the US$60m Drax Covidgate scandal.

The fallout saw the arrest and dismissal of former Health Minister Obadiah Moyo.