HARARE
–
Goromonzi
West
MP
Energy
Mutodi
has
withdrawn
explosive
corruption
allegations
he
made
on
X
against
Treasury
Secretary
George
Guvamatanga,
saying
he
could
not
substantiate
the
claims.
On
Wednesday,
Mutodi
–
who
chairs
parliament’s
budget,
finance
and
economic
development
committee
–
alleged
that
Guvamatanga
was
demanding
kickbacks
of
between
five
and
10
percent
from
contractors,
ministries
and
government
departments
in
return
for
releasing
budgeted
funds.
He
claimed
road
contractor
Bitumen
had
been
forced
to
pay
US$200,000
for
every
US$2
million
in
weekly
payments
authorised
by
Guvamatanga,
while
parliament
itself
had
been
starved
of
resources
after
refusing
to
pay
bribes.
Mutodi
further
alleged
that
the
former
Barclays
Bank
CEO
had
accumulated
more
than
US$1
billion
in
wealth,
boasting
over
5,000
dairy
cattle,
multiple
mansions
and
luxury
equipment
despite
being
a
civil
servant.
But
Guvamatanga
angrily
denied
the
claims,
accusing
the
Zanu
PF
MP
of
an
extortion
attempt.
Guvamatanga
threatened
to
sue
for
defamation,
while
also
reporting
Mutodi
to
the
police
for
extortion
and
blackmail.
Late
on
Friday,
Mutodi
appeared
to
backtrack.
In
a
statement,
he
said
he
had
“reflected”
on
the
matter
and
spoken
directly
to
Guvamatanga,
concluding
that
it
was
“not
in
our
interest
to
escalate
the
issues.”
“While
the
issues
had
been
raised
as
a
matter
of
principle
and
for
the
need
to
contribute
meaningfully
to
this
government
especially
by
upholding
the
oversight
function
of
parliament
provided
for
under
Section
119
(3)
of
the
constitution,
it
is
apparent
to
mention
that
proof
beyond
reasonable
doubt
under
the
circumstances
would
be
impossible,
making
such
a
publication
defamatory,”
Mutodi
said.
“I
therefore
wish
to
issue
an
apology,
unreservedly,
to
Mr
George
Guvamatanga
for
the
reputational
damage
the
tweets
may
have
caused,
and
I
have
made
instructions
that
the
tweets
be
erased
with
immediate
effect.”
Mutodi’s
sudden
climbdown
is
likely
to
fuel
speculation
of
behind-the-scenes
pressure,
while
Guvamatanga
–
one
of
the
most
powerful
civil
servants
under
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
–
appears
determined
to
protect
his
reputation.