Former Mines Minister, Obert Mpofu has dismissed as “insults”, the allegations that he looted the countries resources during his time as minister. He told Daily News reporter, Fungi Kwaramba during an interview that contrary to popular belief that he would block the anti-corruption drive, he had actually invited investigations. Below are excerpts from the interview:
Kwaramba: Some have said the fight against corruption won’t amount to much unless you are investigated?
Mpofu: I am clean, I have invited investigations. I have never and will never take anything from anybody. What I have, I worked for and it is an insult, especially to be told by a nonentity, someone who has never managed a tuck-shop that I am corrupt. What do I need to corrupt anybody? If anything, I would be corrupting people.
Kwaramba: But people point at your time as minister of Mines and Mining Development when the country discovered diamonds in Chiadzwa, was it the time you got rich?
Mpofu: I think that is the best time that the country ever had, between 2009 and 2013. But people who want to see us fail think of the negative, look at the economic growth, it shot to two-figure digits, I am proud.
I don’t regret it and I am waiting to see someone surpass what I achieved. Before 2009, there was nothing in mining and after 2013 it just went down. The graph is going down, but when I was minister, the graph was going up and I don’t see us achieving that in the near future. When you achieve something in Zimbabwe, you become a target, an enemy of the reactionaries.
I am not amused by the allegations, but I don’t regret the decisions that I have taken in my life because I made those decisions consciously. If there is anybody who thinks that I have done something that is not professional, they should go to the police.
But let us not trivialise issues by listening to people who have never employed anyone in their lives. We don’t condone corruption because it denies people of their rights and repels investment. But if you look at the investments that are in this country, they were brought by me, the mining companies. When I was in industries, look at the companies, the majority were brought by me and I am challenging anyone to dispute that.
Read the full interview from the Daily News