HARARE
–
Businessman
Kudakwashe
Tagwirei
fired
up
a
storm
on
Wednesday
after
claiming
Zimbabweans
who
have
not
won
government
tenders
are
“foolish”
–
about
99
percent
of
the
population.
Speaking
at
the
National
University
of
Science
and
Technology
in
Bulawayo,
Tagwirei
launched
a
personal
defence
against
accusations
of
being
a
tenderpreneur,
a
derogatory
term
used
to
describe
individuals
—
often
politically
connected
—
who
exploit
their
influence
to
bypass
competition
and
secure
public
tenders
for
personal
enrichment,
typically
through
corrupt
practices
like
overpricing,
substandard
work,
or
kickbacks.
“If
you’re
not
a
tenderpreneuer,
you’re
foolish,”
Tagwirei
said.
“The
biggest
buyer
or
seller
in
this
country
is
government,
so
if
you
don’t
want
to
get
your
tender
from
the
biggest
buyer
and
biggest
seller
where
are
you
going
to
get
your
business
from?
“Anyone
who
tells
you
that
you
must
not
get
tenders
is
foolish,
you
must
actually
strive
to
get
a
tender
from
government.”
The
Sakunda
Holdings
founder,
who
has
scored
government
contracts
worth
billions
of
dollars,
claimed
his
critics
were
“jealous
because
they
don’t
get
the
tenders.”
He
claimed
the
word
tenderpreneuer
was
“coined
by
white
people
to
discourage
blacks
from
gaining
access
to
business
from
government.”
Recently
appointed
to
Zanu
PF’s
central
committee
amid
claims
he
harbours
ambitions
to
be
president,
Tagwirei
has
used
his
proximity
to
the
country’s
political
leadership
to
secure
huge
government
contracts.
A
reported
US$3
billion
payment
to
Tagwirei’s
Sakunda
Holdings
for
the
Command
Agriculture
scheme
caused
a
collapse
of
the
local
currency,
leading
to
the
United
States
and
Britain
imposing
sanctions
against
him
and
his
companies.
The
United
States
treasury
department
said
Tagwirei
“has
utilised
his
relationships
with
high
level
Zimbabwean
officials
to
gain
state
contracts
and
receive
favoured
access
to
hard
currency,
including
U.S.
dollars.
In
turn,
Tagwirei
has
provided
high
priced
items,
such
as
expensive
cars,
to
senior-level
Zimbabwean
government
officials.”
It
added:
“Since
former
Zimbabwe
President
Robert
Mugabe’s
2017
departure,
Tagwirei
used
a
combination
of
opaque
business
dealings
and
his
ongoing
relationship
with
President
(Emmerson)
Mnangagwa
to
grow
his
business
empire
dramatically
and
rake
in
millions
of
U.S.
dollars.”
Economist
Tinashe
Murapata,
reacting
to
Tagwirei’s
comments
in
Bulawayo,
said:
“Tagwirei’s
comments
on
tenderprenuership
miss
the
nuance
and
intelligence
of
a
national
leader
he
is
shaping
himself
to
be.
Command
Agriculture
never
went
to
tender.
The
treasury
bills
he
was
given
were
never
meant
to
be
traded,
in
effect
it
was
pension
funds
and
depositors’
money
that
funded
Command
Agriculture,
savings
from
the
same
people
he
now
calls
foolish.
Savings
which
were
lost
to
hyperinflation
caused
by
the
government.
“I
don’t
understand
political
leadership
that
mocks
distance
from
political
office.
By
its
very
nature
and
definition,
proximity
and
access
to
political
office
is
limited
to
a
few.
Yet
it
is
ordinary
business
people
and
traders
without
political
access
who
drive
the
economy.”
Businessman
Kuda
Musasiwa
weighed
in:
“Tenders
are
not
the
problem.
An
equitable
system
that
allows
all
business
to
access
tenders
would
be
the
answer
to
this.
Currently
tenders
go
to
shelved
companies
with
hotel
rooms
as
addresses.”
Tagwirei
has
won
state
contracts
in
a
wide
range
of
sectors
including
agriculture,
energy,
health
and
road
construction.