Perpetua Murungweni
Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) has appealed to the Office of the President and Cabinet to immediately relinquish Ambassador At Large for Europe and the Americas, Uebert Angel of his appointment and revoke all diplomatic privileges pending further investigations over gold smuggling accusations.
In a statement issued on April 5, ZIMCODD indicated that there was need to renounce Angel from his diplomatic privileges because of the ignorance or willful misrepresentation of the same person as being the ‘second in command’ to the governance system, which they say is a breach of national constitution.
“To this end, as ZIMCODD, we are appealing to the Office of the President and Cabinet to immediately relinquish Mr Angel (Uebert) from his appointment and revoke all diplomatic privileges pending further investigations.
“It is very apparent that the individual has misrepresented Zimbabwe as a haven of sanctioned criminality, a contrast to ambassadorial roles. The arrogance and boastfulness of one Uebert Angel in the documentary stating how he can easily smuggle national resources is not only a cause for concern, but a mockery of our national security,” said ZIMCODD statement.
ZIMCODD further calls upon the Office of the President and Cabinet to set up a Special Commission of Inquiry to ascertain guilty and hold all implicated officials accountable.
“The Special Commission of Inquiry must suspend licenses of the implicated pending investigations, be headed by a reputable former Head of State or diplomat and a High Court judge, be independent and empowered to fulfil its mandate, broadcast all its investigations, be given the power to subpoena, consist of at least three reputable Members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties.
“There is also need to collaborate with the same investigations which are being carried out in South Africa for the same cause, so as to triangulate facts and findings, have a running time frame of three months, have the legal authority to access any relevant document, have the authority to freeze properties of the implicated persons and give sound and actionable recommendations,” added the statement.
ZIMCODD also called for the establishment of the special Commission of inquiry will enable Zimbabwe to uncover the gold smuggling and its networks.
“The successful establishment of this Special Commission of Inquiry will enable Zimbabwe to unearth the nitty-gritties of gold smuggling, its networks and implications. The findings will also shape court proceedings in a bid to prosecute and recover all lost revenue,” read the statement.
ZIMCODD also bemoaned how gold smuggling impacts ruthlessly to the socio-economic aspects as many Zimbabweans are living in poverty.
“The most ruthless impact of gold smuggling is that it worsens socio-economic challenges that Zimbabweans are facing by stealing an opportunity to robustly generate revenue to address the same. These social and economic ills being encountered by the citizens include but are not limited to poverty,” added the statement.
Qatar based news network Aljazeera has so far published two of the four part series of gold smuggling in ‘Gold Mafia’ episode 1 and 2 while the other two are yet to be published.
The four-episode documentary series exposes alleged gold smuggling syndicates, Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), money laundering, corruption, state capture, power dynamics and the abuse of diplomatic immunity and privileges.
The broadcast episodes show that Zimbabwe is losing an average of US$ 500 kgs of gold per week to gold smuggling syndicates who claim to have connections to the highest echelons of power. Key public institutions such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Fidelity Printers and Refiners who are custodians of gold production and exportation are all implicated.
