by Paul Ndou
Business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei made his wealthy in the fuel sector and did not use any political connections to achieve his status, former opposition legislator and veteran economist Eddie Cross has said.
Cross said Tagwirei, who deinvested from the fuel sector four years ago, used his company Sakunda Holdings and links with international organizations to become rich.
This is contrary to assertions by the West and opposition elements in the country that Tagwirei made his fortune from the Government’s Command Agriculture programme which was implemented in 2016 to avert food shortages.
“It wasn’t political connections that made him rich,” Cross told a private online publication.
“He has become extremely rich and Kuda is extremely bright. He owned a fuel company, one of the bigger ones and the Trafigura guys bought him out and made him a director and trebbled the size of the business as they (Trafigura) are the third largest trading company in the world. So it was under Trafigura that he made very substantial money and he is still a wealthy man.”
He added: “He is a billionaire and it is his own money. These are success stories.”
Cross was part of the late Morgan Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that advocated for the West to impose illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Tagwirei was also put under sanctions over the command agriculture in 2020.
A former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Monetary Policy Committee member Cross said Tagwirei had since left the fuel industry and was focusing on other interests.
“Completely and is the President’s decision.”
Cross also revealed how he fought Tagwirei—metaphorically—for more than 10 years thinking he had total control of the country’s fuel pipeline.
He said he was pushing for MOGS of South Africa to build a second pipeline from Beira, Mozambique to Harare.
Government has reiterated that it will not give total control of the fuel pipeline to a private player.
He also dismissed that Tagwirei was part of state owned minting group, Kuvimba Mining House.
“Kuvimba has been taken over by the National Wealth Fund,” he said.
The State Sovereign Wealth recently acquired all shareholding in Kuvimba in a bid to end speculation about its ownership.