No censure for Chinamasa over SMM

06 August 2011 - 13:24 By SIMPLICIUS CHIRINDA
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Zimbabwe's Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs Patrick Chinamasa this week escaped censure on a charge of contempt of parliament.

The reprieve came when Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo ruled that Chinamasa did not act in a manner that brought the work of parliament into jeopardy when he executed the takeover of collapsed asbestos mining firm Shabanie Mashaba Mines (SMM) from businessman Mutumwa Mawere.

A committee of parliament leading investigations into how the firm was taken over by the government had raised the possibility that Chinamasa might have lied under oath during parliamentary deliberations.

Chinamasa is said to have promised to make available copies of SMM bearer share certificates that he said were in the possession of the government to the Mines and Energy Committee - a promise he never fulfilled, raising the committee's suspicion that he lied.

The committee wanted him charged under a parliamentary select committee rule. But in delivering his ruling, Moyo said the committee had not exhausted all the legal processes at its disposal in its endeavour to secure the production of the bearer share certificates from Chinamasa.

"The committee should have proceeded by way of summons issued by the clerk of parliament for the minister to produce the documents. If he had failed to comply, then that would have amounted to contravening the Privileges Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act and disobeying any summons issued. He has no prima facie case against him,'' Moyo said while delivering his judgment on Thursday.

In the same ruling Moyo criticised Chinamasa's appointed administrator of SMM, Afaras Gwaradzimba, saying he had undermined the institution of parliament when executing his duties.

SMM is now under the control of the Ministry of Mines. Mawere, who was recently cleared of any crimes following his specification in 2004, is still battling to recover his business empire.

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