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Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
Presidential Affairs Minister and ZANU-PF secretary for administration Cde Dydmus Mutasa yesterday distanced himself from claims by the party’s Mashonaland West provincial chairperson, Cde Temba Mliswa, that he tried to facilitate an out-of-court settlement in a US$165 million dispute with businessman, Mr Conrad Billy Rautenbach.

Cde Mliswa also alleged that his uncle, Cde Mutasa, used his influence as a party heavyweight in Manicaland province to allow Mr Rautenbach to set up the Chisumbanje ethanol plant.

Arda chairperson, Cde Basil Nyabadza — who Cde Mliswa said had a house bought for him by Mr Rautenbach — also reiterated he knew nothing of the allegations and would privately pursue action against the Hurungwe West legislator.

He declined to say what action he would be taking, though previously he had said he would file a complaint with the police. State-owned Arda is a shareholder in the Chisumbanje project, which is trading as Green Fuel.

Cde Mliswa has claimed he is owed more than US$165 million for facilitating Mr Rautenbach’s interests in Hwange Colliery, Unki Platinum and Chisumbanje.
His allegations dragged in the Arda chair and Cde Mutasa.

Cde Mutasa yesterday said, “I don’t want to be interviewed about those issues. They have nothing to do with me. Mliswa has got his own life and I have my own life. Don’t mix. I don’t want to talk about that again.”

Cde Nyabadza said, “I have already taken a position after I took some advice. I will handle it from a personal point of view.”

He said his action would be made known when the time was ripe.

“I am not saying I have abandoned the (police) case. It’s a personal issue that I will handle as such,” said Cde Nyabadza, former ZANU-PF Manicaland interim provincial chair.

Two weeks ago, Cde Mliswa said Cdes Mutasa and Nyabadza tried to mediate in his multimillion dollar dispute with Mr Rautenbach. He said he helped Mr Rautenbach get platinum concessions at Unki and to supply coal to Hwange Colliery.

Cde Mliswa said Mr Rautenbach sold the Unki concession for US$1 billion and he was entitled to 10 percent of that (US$100 million).

Further, he said he was not paid US$10 per tonne of coal and US$5 per tonne of coke supplied by Mr Rautenbach to Hwange. He alleged the money was not paid and that.

On top of that, he wants ten percent of the value of Green Fuel, which he said was worth US$650 million. Cde Mliswa said Mr Rautenbach exported ethanol and coal even as Zimbabwe faced an energy crisis.

He went on, “The onus is on you (journalists) to go and ask the Honourable Minister (Cde Mutasa) ‘did Billy ask you to settle this out of court?’ Because he is an Honourable MP and he so happens to be my uncle, I trusted my uncle. I decided that the matter be settled out of court because he had gone and asked him to do that.

“Basil Nyabadza was there. I am the one who took Billy to Arda.  Basil Nyabadza never knew Billy. Why was I in a flight from Harare to Arda? Certainly I was not a flight attendant. It is a helicopter, a helicopter does not need a flight attendant. So what was I doing? It would be good for him (Billy) to answer what I was doing on that flight,” he said.

Cde Mliswa said he wanted to set up the ethanol plant but did not have the finances, hence he roped in Mr Rautenbach.

He claimed Mr Rautenbach bought Cde Nyabadza a house in Mutare and gave “brown envelopes” to several politicians — who he said he would soon expose — to oil his deals.