Harare Post Reporter

In a move signalling mounting scepticism, Dr Ibbo Mandaza's Southern Africa Political Economic Series (SAPES) Trust is gearing up to host a policy dialogue on 16 October 2023, with the explicit intent of challenging the legitimacy of the Government's Mutapa Investment Fund.

Digging deeper into the motivations behind this dialogue, an insider privy to the Trust's strategy shared, "Dr. Mandaza harbours significant reservations regarding the Mutapa Investment Fund. To him, it's more than just a fund; it appears as a 'looting scheme' conveniently operated by certain Government officials."

According to the source, this sentiment is anticipated to dominate the dialogue, especially with the expected presence of certain influential anti-government figures.

The source elucidated further, "Beyond just Tendai Biti, the deputy president of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who is confirmed to speak, Dr. Mandaza intends to gather a chorus of Government critics to bolster his claims and intensify the scrutiny on the fund's operations."

However, offering a more measured take, political analyst, Nobleman Runyanga opined, "Traced back to its 2014 inception via the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, the Mutapa Investment Fund is essentially a collection of public equities, commodity royalties, and special allocations. Its activity might have been understated over the years, but its mission, which is to cultivate assets for the nation's future and champion developmental objectives, remains unswerving."

Meanwhile, established under its former title, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe, the Mutapa Investment Fund is an ambitious project conceived by the Zimbabwean government. Its chief objective is to astutely manage and amplify surplus funds amassed from the vast array of the nation's natural resources, such as minerals.

Above all, the vision for this fund has always been to safeguard and multiply national wealth, ensuring that both the current and subsequent generations reap the benefits.