HARARE – Anti-corruption investigators are advancing a probe into how millions of dollars in government pension funds were channelled to a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)-linked company for the construction of a multi-purpose, three-storey building in Harare, amid questions about possible abuse of influence and misuse of public funds.
Investigators from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) have conducted raids at the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), Terrestrial Holdings — the CIO’s investment arm — and at least two financial services companies as part of an investigation into a US$6.8 million construction project initiated in 2021.
Documents reviewed by ZimLive indicate that NSSA disbursed an initial US$4.5 million for the project in what appears to be direct commercial lending, a practice that falls outside the pension fund’s core mandate.
While NSSA has previously financed housing and development initiatives — including lending through subsidiaries such as the National Building Society — such transactions typically involve strict safeguards, including bank guarantees and oversight mechanisms.
At the centre of the investigation are allegations that Terrestrial used institutional influence to secure the funding, with portions of the money allegedly diverted into opaque investment schemes soon after disbursement.
Sources familiar with the project say it was initiated during the tenure of former CIO director-general Isaac Moyo, with his then assistant Linos Mapfumo playing a key role in structuring the deal. Mapfumo, now posted at Zimbabwe’s embassy in Paris, is said to have worked closely with the late Nyasha Nash Dzimiri, the CIO’s investments director who headed Terrestrial Holdings before his death in April 2024.
The current CIO director-general Fulton Mangwanya, who only assumed office in January last year, has been left to deal with the fallout.
“Mapfumo collaborated with architects and contractors to structure the deal and present it to NSSA for funding,” ZimLive was told.
The source added that disputes later emerged among parties involved, particularly over commission payments, causing significant delays before the project was recently revived, just as ZACC opened its investigation.
NSSA released the US$4.5 million through Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe into the account of Chigama Architectural Services and Project Management, a firm with offices in Harare and Windhoek.
Investigators are examining claims that some of the funds were subsequently diverted to an asset management company and a money transfer firm experiencing liquidity challenges, allegedly for high-interest investment arrangements that benefited insiders.
The entities under scrutiny include Alpha Asset Management, run by Rudo Mukamba, and Access Forex, led by Raymond Singathini Chigogwana.
ZACC executed search-and-seizure warrants between November last year and January, targeting directors of Terrestrial Holdings and Chigama Architectural Services to obtain contracts, financial records and other documentation linked to the transaction.
The probe could provide rare insight into the operations of Terrestrial, the CIO’s commercial arm, which controls companies across sectors including mining, transport, real estate, energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and tourism.
Although the CIO receives funding through the national budget, it also runs business ventures to generate off-budget income.
Terrestrial operates from the seventh floor of Livingstone House on Samora Machel Avenue, while Chigama Architectural Services and Project Management is based on Chelmsford Road in Belgravia. The two companies partnered on the US$6.8 million development at Stand No. 8 Natal Road, a property owned by the CIO.
ZACC investigators are expected to determine whether NSSA followed proper procedures in releasing pensioners’ funds and whether any criminal conduct occurred in the financing and management of the project.
A ZACC spokesperson declined to comment.
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