The Commission of Inquiry into the Sale of State Land in
and around urban areas has accused Goddard Dunira, a nephew to former Minister
of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and his land development partner and MP
for Chivi Central Ephraim Gwanongodza of hiding a bank account holding $1.25
million that the pair received from an international donor organisation.
Commissioners also expressed shock at the use of names of
fictitious churches and companies by the two to allegedly hide ownership of
commercial stands illegally obtained from Vashandi Housing Scheme in Victoria
Range in Masvingo in which Dunira and Gwanongodza are chairman and treasurer
respectively.
The commission also fear possible massive tax evasion by
land barons in Masvingo after they bumped into a letter in a Vashandi file in
which the author plotted tax evasion.
The commissioners also discovered that Dunira and
Gwanongodza were allegedly transferring money from Vashandi Bank accounts into
the account of Rajivic, a private land development company which the two
jointly own as shareholders and directors.
The two are signatories in the Vashandi bank accounts. Two weeks ago the Commission instructed Dunira and
Gwanongodza to submit all financial and bank statements pertaining to Vashandi
Housing Scheme. On perusing the books during a hearing on Friday, the
commissioners discovered monthly payments of between $10 000 and $26 000 that
the co-operative has been making to Rajivic and another company called Goddarm
Investment.
“A lot of money is going out of the co-operative every
month. I can see that you are transferring money from Vashandi into an account
owned by Rajivic, your private company. There are even bigger payments into an
an organisation called Rajivic. What is
it for?” asked another Commissioner.
The duo said that the instalments were for repayment of a
$1,25 million loan obtained from Rajivic for the construction of 250 core
houses for members. Commissioners then looked for the loan entry in the
financial books but could not find it. Dunira and Gwanongodza also failed to
find the entry in any of the organisation’s submitted books and bank accounts.
Cornered and pressed, the visibly shaken pair told the
Commission that the loan was deposited into an small scale enterprise account
which had since been closed.
“So you have another account which you did not disclose?
And you say that the account has ceased?” asked Commissioner Petronella
Musarurwa.
Justice Uchena who chairs the Commission then proposed to
Gwanongodza and Dunira that the session be adjourned so that the two could go
and collect the statement from the Bank. The pair told the Commission that the
statement could not be obtained from the Bank the same day.
“We cannot proceed without that statement on the loan, it
is important and I propose that we adjourn and allow the two to go and collect
it from the bank,” said Justice Uchena.
Justice Uchena then asked the pair for a date on which it
will be ready with the bank statement. The two dithered until Justice Uchena
proposed to give the pair a letter instructing the Bank to release the
statement.
At that point, Dunira said he had a daughter who was ill
and he would not be free to attend the hearing the following week. He proposed
that he be replaced at the hearings by another member from Vashandi but
commissioners felt that a new person would take them back in terms of progress.
Justice Uchena eventually declared that the hearing be
continued in Harare since the Commission is winding up its business in Masvingo
this Saturday. Dunira who seemed no longer interested in attending the hearings
reluctantly accepted.
At some stage as commissioners perused through financial
statements, they came across an internal letter in which one member of Vashandi
was advising others against forming a private company as this would attract the
attention of the taxman.
“We should avoid forming a company because this will
attract tax,” read part of the letter.
A commissioner read out the letter and asked Gwanongodza
and Dunira what they meant by the letter and the answer was barely audible. The
Commission set aside the letter. Masvingo Mirror
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