Harare, Zimbabwe — The Zimbabwean government’s latest move to protect the environment has been met with a wall of skepticism as details emerge regarding the “sole mandate” granted to Paul Tungwarara, the President’s Economic Advisor.
While the official narrative frames the deal as a desperate measure to save the nation’s water bodies from the scourge of siltation and mercury, the fine print tells a story of unprecedented preferential treatment and the potential “State Capture” of the mining sector.
One Rule for the Advisor, Another for the Nation
In a move that has stunned industry players, a Cabinet-backed circular has installed Tungwarara’s Prevail Group of Companies as the only entity permitted to touch the nation’s riverbeds. This comes despite a blanket ban on alluvial gold mining—a ban that, curiously, seems to have been designed with a loophole specifically for the “Cyanide Queen’s” counterpart in the advisory office.
The directive, which has been verified by sources within various government ministries, effectively shuts out any competition, regardless of technical expertise or historical performance in environmental engineering.
The “Taxation” of Foreign Investment
The most damning allegation surfacing from the Muroodzi River “prototype” project is the claim that this is not about fixing rivers, but about rent-seeking.
Political analysts, including Jealousy Mawarire, have pointed out that foreign miners—primarily Chinese companies who have invested millions into alluvial operations—now find themselves in a corner. With their licenses suspended, they reportedly have only one path back to viability: partnering with Prevail Group.
The alleged “Catch-22” for miners:
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Step 1: Alluvial mining is banned for everyone to “protect the environment.”
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Step 2: Prevail Group is granted the “Sole Mandate” for rehabilitation.
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Step 3: Former miners are forced to work under Prevail’s license as “sub-contractors.”
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Step 4: Prevail Group allegedly collects a 10% to 15% monthly royalty from the profits of these companies.
Funding the ‘2030 Project’?
The optics of the deal are worsened by Tungwarara’s recent high-profile “donations” and his role in building the multi-million dollar precast wall at State House. Critics argue that the money flowing through these “Presidential Schemes” is being weaponized to fund the “2030 Project”—the controversial campaign to extend President Mnangagwa’s term beyond constitutional limits.
“It is a rent-seeking maneuver carefully crafted to give it a veneer of legality,” Mawarire stated, highlighting that the funds are allegedly being used to purchase political loyalty and luxury vehicles for party functionaries.
By granting Tungwarara a monopoly over Zimbabwe’s rivers, the Cabinet has not only sidelined local experts but has signaled to the world that in Zimbabwe, access to the President is the only license that matters.