Stunning allegations have rocked Zimbabwe’s Parliament after explosive claims by Dr Energy Mutodi, the outspoken legislator and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Budgets, who has accused Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga of orchestrating one of the largest corruption rackets ever reported within Treasury.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mutodi alleged that Guvamatanga — popularly known as GG — is receiving kickbacks of between 5–10% on every payment processed by Treasury. According to Mutodi, these alleged practices have transformed Guvamatanga into the “richest civil servant in Zimbabwe,” with his personal fortune estimated at over US$1 billion.
“The Parliament of Zimbabwe has received agonising reports that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mr George Guvamatanga, is receiving 5–10% for every payment done by Treasury. GG has accumulated more than US$1 billion, becoming the richest civil servant,” Mutodi revealed.
Mutodi further claimed that contractors, ministries, and departments refusing to pay Guvamatanga the alleged “tax” have been deliberately starved of funds, with budgeted allocations withheld for months. He singled out Bitumen, a company contracted to carry out road works, which he said was forced to pay US$200,000 per every US$2 million in weekly Treasury payments authorised by Guvamatanga.
According to Mutodi, even Parliament itself has not been spared, struggling to function over the past six months after Treasury withheld its allocated funding.
The flamboyant former banker is also said to be living far beyond the means of a civil servant earning less than US$1,000 per month. Mutodi alleged that Guvamatanga owns more than 5,000 dairy cattle, state-of-the-art dairy equipment, and multiple luxury mansions, prompting calls for a full-scale lifestyle audit.
In another shocking claim, Mutodi said Guvamatanga has made direct threats against him, warning that a “terror team” would be unleashed should Parliament proceed with an audit or request an official corruption probe from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
Mnangagwa’s Calculated Appointment
The revelations have also thrown fresh light on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 2018 decision to appoint Guvamatanga — a former Barclays Bank managing director — as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
According to Mutodi, Mnangagwa handpicked Guvamatanga precisely because he wanted to transform the Treasury into a de facto parallel central bank. The President was reportedly looking for a trusted insider capable of managing and dispensing massive cash flows from parastatals such as ZINARA, which generates millions of dollars daily. At the heart of this system, Mutodi claims, sits George Guvamatanga.
Fallout Ahead
These explosive allegations come at a time of mounting public distrust in government institutions, widespread economic hardship, and growing concerns about the mismanagement of public resources. Mutodi’s bombshell raises not only questions about Treasury’s credibility but also the integrity of the wider financial governance system under Mnangagwa’s administration.
Calls for a lifestyle audit and a full-scale ZACC investigation are now likely to intensify, although questions remain as to whether Guvamatanga’s alleged deep political connections will shield him from accountability.
For now, Zimbabweans are left watching whether Parliament’s revelations will trigger genuine institutional reforms or whether the allegations will vanish into yet another cycle of political silence.
