PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor and Sakunda Holdings boss Kuda Tagwirei, whose tentacles stretch across a vast spectrum of the economy, has been acquiring buses for Zupco’s public transportation system through his investment vehicle Landela Investments in a murky arrangement with the government, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.
Landela was one of five companies whose accounts were frozen by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in September last year as the central bank battled to suppress illegal foreign currency trading on the parallel market, before the suspension was lifted under a cloud.
In a notice to banks, the RBZ announced it had frozen the accounts of Bill Height Investments, Landela, Rimosa Trading, Fossil Agro and Traverze Travel. Three of the companies, namely Landela, Rimosa Trading and Fossil Agro, are linked to Tagwirei.
Landela is a subsidiary of commodity trading firm Sotic International Ltd, through which Tagwirei acquired shares in Russian-Zimbabwean platinum joint venture, Great Dyke Investments.
It has emerged that it is, in fact, Landela, and not the government, which is behind the procurement of buses for Zupco’s public transportation system.
A three-month investigation by the Independent revealed that a total of 125 buses purportedly acquired by Zupco, some of which were commissioned by Mnangagwa in November, were actually bought by Landela.
Forty-nine of the 65 buses whose arrival into the country was celebrated by government officials amid pomp and fanfare this month, were acquired by Landela and bonded at the FAW warehouse in Msasa due to outstanding import duty.
The other 26 were imported from Chinese firm Xiamen Golden Dragon by the Public Service Commission.
Official government documents seen by the Independent further indicate that of the 76 buses commissioned by Mnangagwa in Bulawayo in November last year, were part of the 125 acquired by Landela.
