Grace Gate Tractors the Facts

Investigations has shown that the scandal of Brazilian Mechanization equipment is deeper than previously thought. More Food for Africa Programme (MFAP) line of credit for Africa pegged at $1,6 billion to empower Africa to feed itself thereby wean itself from perennial toxic donations.  Zimbabwe government applied for the fund immediately after rigging the election in 2013. The deal was signed on 29 August 2013 with Brazilian government, the government of Zimbabwe was the guarantor and AgriBank was the financial administrator in conjunction with Ministry of Agriculture, mechanization and Irrigation witnessed by Deputy Minister Davis Marapira.  The first batch worth $38.6 million, was to be received by Zimbabwe by December 2013 and another trench of $60 million in $30 million 6 monthly interval. 

I can also reveal that the equipment was only received in May 2015, well after 1.5 years delay. The delay was caused by the uneasiness by the Brazilian government with Kasukuwere’s Indiginization policy which was perceived as unpopular, retrogressive even by Mugabe’s East friends including China. As a result the Brazilian wouldn’t trust the ZANU PF government with any loan of credit with the Kasukuwere jungle law.  The Brazilian Ambassador to Zimbabwe MS Maria Maro da Silva confirmed this in an interview. This explained why Mugabe suddenly dropped the Indigenization law and dropped Savior Kasukuwere from the Ministry, and only then the Brazilian government delivered the agricultural equipment, more than a year later. Even then the Brazilian were uncomfortable with Zimbabwean government being a guarantor given their track record on previous deals especially with Chinese, I will come back to this later. There was also an element that Zimbabwe government entangled in a national debt of more than $10 billion which it was unable to pay and bullishly refusing to owner its agreement. The Brazilian government no doubt are extremely outraged that the still unpaid for equipment has been double dipped by the first family and parceled to their supporters who are known not to pay back, given the Chinese track record. Grace corruptly has muscled herself into a government life line of credit which has been sensitively watched, exactly what the Brazilians feared that’s why they sought to be registered as an Investment Company through the Zimbabwe Investment Center, to be able to monitor and follow up their investments, hence the delay in delivery to ensure that their suppliers are paid back. 

What is the Chinese record?

China extended similar deals in agriculture mechanization, ironically the ZANU PF government has been trying hard to be seen as a government that is pro agriculture and pro self-sufficient by over borrowing so that it may appear that their shambolic agriculture invasion is working.

The government of Zimbabwe in 2004 signed a mechanization deal with Chinese government which was administered by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe then under Gideon Gono, rising to a final figure of $1,2 billion. The funds were sourced with the hope that the government intended to capitalize ARDA to drive agricultural self-sufficiency and replenish its agricultural equipment.  By 2007, all the billion dollars’ worth of agricultural equipment has been looted. You probably remember that ZANU PF this year tried to pass a bill to have the debt adopted by government, which you and me will have to foot the bill generational. Despite parliamentary debates and pressure from MDC that the government release the names of the beneficiaries the government refused.  Well yours truly has been busy investigating and I can now confirm the beneficiaries;

I can confirm that 925 tractors were delivered to Zimbabwe through the Chinese deal between 2004 and 2007. Of the 925 tractors, 56 tractors were allocated to Ministers yet at no given time did the government had more than 27 ministers, meaning the other 29 were bogus minsters or that the same ministers double dipped. Very much shocking was that a company by the name Pamberi Investments registered in New Zealand got 12 tractors, 12 ploughs, 12 planters and 9 sprayers, this company no longer exist. And you and I are left to pick up the tab.  Another bogus company Maguta/Inlala got 27 tractors and 12 ploughs, the government has refused to name the directors and its registration has vanished from the registrar of companies. 62 tractors, 31 ploughs and 30 sprayers disappeared in the name of war veterans, anonymously.  I have on record information that service chiefs got 45 tractors, 22 ploughs and 23 harrow, with 84 tractors going to traditional leaders.  No records show that ARDA in its legal form got even 1 tractor, I can reveal.

In reflection ZANU PF has always abused government credit of lines, loans for Zimbabwe benefiting ONLY ZANU thugs and thieves.  Phillip Chiyangwa knows it very well this is why he is gallivanting in pursuit of Grace, first lady turned broad light thief. We were used to looting behind the scene, but Grace has taken it too far and even the Brazilian government maybe shocked with Zimbabweans resilience and idiotic.  Unlike in Zimbabwe where ZANU thinks it owns everything, private sector, government, country and every creature, Brazil is different, those tractors are not government produced, they are produced by private sector and the government’s role was to find market. Is Grace the market the Brazilians wanted? Many people have been saying that what is the MDC doing? Well now you know, this research is a testimony that MDC is not sleeping on the wheel, our role is to force the government to be accountable, defending national interests, and safe guarding sovereignty interests. We are doing this through MPs, leadership, politicians, support base and technocrats.  More to follow, to be continued.