By Crime and Courts Reporter- Finance Ministry secretary George Guvamatanga, has been thrust into the spotlight following revelations of a sprawling corruption scandal involving over R800 million (approximately US$42 million) paid to companies linked to controversial businessman and convicted fraudster Wicknell Chivayo. 

South African authorities are now investigating the case, which could potentially lead to arrests and cross-border prosecutions.

The scandal centres around a suspicious payment of over R1.1 billion made by Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Finance to Ren-Form CC, a Johannesburg-based printing company contracted to supply election materials for Zimbabwe’s August 2023 general elections. 

Of this amount, more than R800 million was immediately funneled into a web of companies linked to Chivayo, including Intratrek Holdings and Dolintel Trading Enterprise, without any trace of services rendered or goods delivered.

At the heart of the matter is George Guvamatanga, the technocrat responsible for authorising all public payments in his role as Secretary for Finance and Economic Development.

As the government’s top paymaster, Guvamatanga has sweeping control over treasury disbursements—giving him the final word on payments such as the controversial Ren-Form deal.

While attention has largely focused on Chivayo and his associates, investigators in South Africa and Zimbabwe are now turning their gaze to Guvamatanga.

Confidential reports obtained by this publication suggest that no payment of such magnitude could have been processedwithout his direct approval. 

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) in South Africa has flagged the Ren-Form transaction as a suspicious and coordinated scheme to loot Zimbabwean public funds under the guise of election procurement.

Furthermore, sources close to the investigation allege that Guvamatanga has amassed a string of high-value properties in South Africa’s Gauteng and Western Cape provinces, including a luxury townhouse in Sandton, a Cape Town apartment overlooking the Atlantic Seaboard, and a commercial building in Midrand—all held through proxies or shell companies.

None of these assets appear in his publicly declared assets or government filings, prompting questions about their financing and ownership. 

The FIC has also alerted the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and South African Police Service (SAPS) to potential violations of anti-money laundering laws, including misrepresentation of source of funds, illicit financial flows, and racketeering.

Documents reviewed by ZimLive and corroborated by law enforcement officials show that once Ren-Form received the funds from the Zimbabwean treasury, more than R800 million was quickly disbursed to third parties, most of them Chivayo-linked companies. These payouts included:

• R351 million to Asibambeki Platinum Group
• R28.8 million to Kumba Group
• R9.4 million to Indo Logistics
• R5.4 million to Daytona (a luxury car dealership)
• R5.6 million to NN Truck and Trailer
• R1.6 million to Flight Centre SA
• R4 million to Strauss Scher Inc (a law firm)
• R1 million to Christian by Hadassah (a Zimbabwean cosmetics brand)

One of the most glaring red flags is a R156 million payment made to Edenbreeze, another Chivayo company, for vaguely defined “architectural and technical services”—raising suspicions of invoice padding and fictitious procurement.

In one shocking example, Ren-Form charged R23 million for a central server that could be sourced online for R90,000. Similarly, non-flushing toilets were invoiced at R68,700 each, and BVR kits—normally worth US$3,600—were billed at an inflated US$16,000 per unit.

The scandal might have remained hidden if not for a falling out between Chivayo and his associates, Mike Chimombeand Moses Mpofu, which led to leaked WhatsApp messages and voice recordings. 

In the audio, Chivayo is heard bragging about bribing top Zimbabwean officials—including Guvamatanga—to greenlight the contract.

Though Chivayo has denied the recordings are his and issued a public apology to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, former CIO boss Isaac Moyo, Cabinet Secretary Martin Rushwaya, and ZEC chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba, he notably did not deny the payments occurred.

Meanwhile, Chimombe and Mpofu, who accused Chivayo of cutting them out of the deal, were arrested on unrelated charges in Zimbabwe and denied bail—moves widely perceived as political retribution aimed at silencing whistleblowers.

Despite growing public outcry, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) have failed to take decisive action against any of the implicated individuals. 

The Zimbabwean government has neither confirmed nor denied Guvamatanga’s role in authorising the payments, while Guvamatanga himself has remained silent, avoiding media engagements and public appearances.

Analysts say Guvamatanga’s long-standing ties to Mnangagwa and his cabinet have effectively shielded him from accountability. 

Appointed in 2018 after a career in the banking sector, Guvamatanga is viewed as one of the regime’s key technocrats—tasked with keeping the country’s battered economy afloat while also managing the ruling party’s vast patronage networks.

With South Africa now taking the lead, pressure is mounting on Zimbabwean authorities to cooperate or risk diplomatic fallout.

FIC’s findings have already been shared with Interpol and several international anti-corruption watchdogs.

Should Guvamatanga be found to have facilitated or personally benefited from the illicit financial flows, he could face asset forfeiture and criminal prosecution in South Africa—even if Zimbabwean institutions continue to look the other way.

For many Zimbabweans, the scandal reinforces a painful truth: that elections are not just stolen at the ballot box but also turned into multi-million-dollar looting sprees by politically connected elites. 

ZimEye/ZimLive