A high-ranking official within Zimbabwe's controversial Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) is facing serious allegations of office abuse and governance violations, according to internal sources.
Wilfred Tanyanyiwa, who serves as both a member of the sovereign wealth fund and acting general manager of its subsidiary Defold Mine, stands accused of multiple ethical breaches including nepotism, procurement irregularities, and financial mismanagement.
These allegations emerge against a backdrop of mounting concern about the MIF's lack of transparency and accountability mechanisms since its restructuring and exemption from standard procurement regulations in September 2023.
Tanyanyiwa stands accused of systematically bypassing established recruitment protocols to favor personally connected individuals.
Insiders said a specific instance involves his alleged disregard for the outcome of a recruitment agent's selection process for a legal officer position, where he apparently overrode the recommended candidate in favor of someone with personal connections.
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Defold mine Human Resources manager, Munyaradzi Mashiche, could not deny or confirm the allegations directing this reporter to his boss, Tanyanyiwa.
“I am not allowed to talk to outsiders. All correspondence has to be through Mr Tanyanyiwa,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from Tanyanyiwa were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswered for several days.
According to sources, Tanyanyiwa faces a number of charges in the manner he runs the entity in violation of good corporate governance practice.
“He is overriding recruitment processes through nepotism, a case in point is ignoring the outcome of a recruitment agent's (name supplied) selection for a legal officer position,” a source said.
Another source added: "There are also procurement irregularities…a long-standing office rental dispute was resolved by hiring a new accountant who facilitated payments without proper documentation, benefiting a property owner who is said to be a close friend.”
“These allegations suggest potential conflicts of interest, favouritism, and irregularities in company processes.”
Observers said the raises significant questions about governance standards within Zimbabwe's primary sovereign wealth vehicle and its adherence to corporate governance principles despite operating numerous state-owned enterprises of critical national importance .
Defold Mine, where the alleged abuses have occurred, operates as a mining subsidiary wholly owned by the MIF.
The MIF represents Zimbabwe's sovereign wealth fund, originally established in 2014 under the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act with the stated purpose of driving strategic investments for national growth and economic prosperity.
In September 2023, President Emmerson Mnangagwa renamed and reconstituted the fund through Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023, granting it sweeping exemptions from standard public procurement rules and parliamentary oversight .
The fund now controls approximately twenty state-owned enterprises across mining, energy, transportation, and agricultural sectors, including strategically important entities like the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, National Railways of Zimbabwe, and TelOne.
