Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has condemned the removal of Energy Mutodi from his position as Chair of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance, following the Bikita South legislator's demand that Parliament summon Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga to answer bribery allegations involving millions of dollars.
Mutodi had taken to X to allege that Guvamatanga was demanding kickbacks from contractors undertaking government work across various sectors. He further claimed that contractors had lost interest in working with the government because Guvamatanga was allegedly demanding millions of dollars as bribes at every turn, threatening to withhold their payments if his demands were not met.
His allegations sparked debate on social media, with some Zanu PF colleagues criticising him for "rocking the boat" and causing divisions within the party. Consequently, he was removed from his post as Chair of the Budget and Finance Parliamentary Committee and replaced by Chipinge East MP Lincoln Dhliwayo -- a move Biti has branded as unconstitutional.
"Wananchi, The abrupt removal of Honourable @energymutodi as chair of parliament Budget & Finance Committee is an abject unconstitutional overreach by a desperate canterkarous cartel that has captured the State and will do everything legally & extra-legally to perpetuate its vice-like grip on the public coffers of this country," Biti wrote on his X account on Monday.
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Biti emphasised that Parliamentarians have a constitutional duty to hold the executive to account and must be allowed to do so without facing punishment.
"Members of Parliament have a constitutional obligation to hold the Executive & every other institution to account in terms of section 119 of the Constitution.
"Further Members of Parliament have absolute privilege, and an unfettered right to feeedom of expression when they stand and debate in the chambers of the August House. Honorable Mutodi enjoys this constitutional protection.
"He has an obligation to raise a matter of great national interest," Biti said.
He further argued that Mutodi should not be made a scapegoat for speaking out on matters that were already in the public domain, noting that Guvamatanga's alleged corrupt conduct was documented in the 2024 Auditor General's Report.
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"The issue of George Tongesai Guvamatanga and the alleged bribes he is demanding is a matter in the public domain and requires parliamentary scrutiny.
"The issue of direct payments being made directly by Treasury to suppliers oblivious of line Ministries, Departments and Agencies has been captured in the Auditor General's Reports."
Biti also alleged that Guvamatanga had facilitated over US$2 billion in payments to service providers in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
"In 2024 alone US$2 billion of payments were made directly by Mr Guvamatanga in his role and capacity as the Paymaster General.
"Yet Treasury Instructions, which he supervises, the Public Finance Management Act and the Constitution clearly proscribe the same," he said.
Biti suggested that Mutodi should not have retracted his statement against Guvamatanga.
"In other words, Hon Mutodi did not disclose anything new. Everything he uttered in parliament was a matter of direct and implicit public knowledge. His mistake was his purported retraction and apology. Understandably, as a loyal member of Zanu PF, it would be expecting too much from the same. A mosquito cannot cure malaria," Biti said.
"Be that as it may, Honourable Mutodi's removal is a direct attack on the constitution, which gives autonomy to the institution of Parliament. It is a direct attack on Parliament itself."
