Zimpapers Logo

Victor Maphosa Herald Correspondent
The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) on Tuesday may have misled the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement that it did not receive funding for the refurbishment of silos from the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) when it actually did, investigations by The Herald have shown.

GMB said money for the refurbishment of its silos came from Treasury, but documents seen by The Herald yesterday showed that GMB was given US$8 000 000 by GMAZ to rehabilitate the silos. The money was deposited into GMB’s Metbank account 0107003279714 under the name, GMB Silo Rehabilitation/Grain Millers/Metbank Escrow account.

Sources indicated that Government, GMAZ and GMB agreed on engaging an independent auditor, Baker Tilly Chartered Accountants, to manage the funds.

Another document containing a memorandum from GMB general manager Mr Rockie Mutenha addressed to the attention of Mr Fungai Nyagwaya, a representative of the independent auditor, also proved that GMB indeed received the funding.

The memo dated February 13, 2018, reads: ‘‘GMB was given authority to utilise funding from the Grain Millers Association (of Zimbabwe)’s facility for silo rehabilitation works. The entity has to date withdrawn US$5 516 244,99. This was all channelled towards the waterproofing of silos.’’

Appearing before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement chaired by Zanu-PF’s Gokwe-Nembudziya legislator Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena, Mr Mutenha said the parastatal rehabilitated its silos using funds from Treasury.

“The Grain Marketing Board does not handle money from millers and gets funding for its projects from Treasury,” he said.

This was in response to a question of how GMB used the $8 million provided by the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) for silos rehabilitation.

Mr Mutenha said GMB is a State entity whose operations are financed by the Treasury.

He said the parastatal did not receive money from the GMAZ, but financed the rehabilitation of its 12 silos using funds from grain procurement account through Treasury and the parastatal’s commercial department.

“As far we are concerned, we did not go into any loan agreement with anyone. We did not sign any contract with anyone. We did not receive money from anyone other than from Treasury, RBZ and our own fund,” he said.