Mutapa funding to be directed to public services, infrastructure

THE Mutapa Investment Fund is expected to direct most of the funding it generates to public services and infrastructure development, it has been revealed.

Mutapa is a sovereign wealth fund established by the government under the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act [Chapter 22:20] of 2015.It was renamed the Mutapa Investment Fund through Statutory Instrument 156 of 2023.

There are 30 State-owned enterprises (SoEs) and parastatals under Mutapa, which gives it a portfolio of 66 firms, including intermediary holding companies, operational and dormant entities, listed companies and the SoEs themselves.

For months, Mutapa executives have been ramping up efforts to use these SoEs to seek funding for the country’s critical projects, which Treasury noted would cost US$40 billion.

Speaking at the recent 8th Public Sector Convention hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe in Gweru, Mutapa chief investment officer Simba Chinyemba said the fund’s role was not to manage SoEs.

“. . . but also, to secure a future for our country. And we have various reasons why we were created: power and incarnation, just to turn around and run these companies commercially, which is a primary purpose, which is to contribute to the stabilisation and development of the economy,” he said.

“Also, to support public services and infrastructure, a lot of the funding that we will generate from both independently and externally will be channelled towards public services and infrastructure, which I guess is quite relevant to what we are talking about in attracting foreign investment.”

He said infrastructure development was also a mandate for SoEs to attract foreign direct investment.

Due to burgeoning debt, the country now had an annual financing gap of US$3,7 billion, according to the African Development Bank.

Chinyemba said the fund’s dual mandate was to drive economic transformation and secure long-term prosperity for future generations.

“So Mutapa Investment Fund is a global sovereign wealth fund which was established with a dual mandate to drive economic transformation by running formerly State-owned enterprises, SoEs, or public entities in some cases, in a commercially viable way, as well as to secure long-term prosperity for future generations,” he said.

Chinyemba added that the fund sought to contribute to the nation’s economic stabilisation and development.-newsda