Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has been summoned to Parliament to explain how the government is dealing with allegations of massive corruption, money laundering and smuggling responsible for the continuous downfall of the economy.
Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti raised the issue in the National Assembly on Tuesday saying it was of national interest for the responsible Minister to explain to the nation how they are dealing with corruption now rife in government.
Following the “gold mafia” documentary by Al Jazeera, Biti also called for a forensic audit to be instituted at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) which was accused of being complicit in gold smuggling and money laundering.
“My point of national interest is directed to the Minister of Finance whom I’m begging that you make a ruling that he be summoned to this august house to address the issue of illicit financial flows.
“Mr Speaker sir, 69% of our people are living in extreme poverty surviving on less than US$1,25 a day yet this country is extremely rich. We have 64 minerals including world deposits of lithium, gold platinum, diamonds and chrome. But we have nothing to show for it,” Biti said.
“Billion dollars are being smuggled illegally through tobacco and smuggling. Can the Minister come before this house to lay out a roadmap of how he is going to deal with corruption including the Gold Mafia and illicit financial flows and a forensic audit of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
“Because we can’t suffer from the “resource curse”, that we’re rich but we’re poor because a few elite individuals have decided to steal from the people of this country.”
Recently, Al Jazeera released a documentary featuring President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s allies including Ewan Macmillan, Simon Rudland, Kamlesh Pattni, Uebert Angel and Henrietta Rushwaya.
The film exposed how gold is smuggled out of the country while billions of dollars are laundered.
