HARARE – The embattled Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion chairperson, Dr Energy Mutodi, has issued a public apology to Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga following a series of tweets alleging flaws in government payment systems and insinuating misconduct on Guvamatanga’s part.
In a statement released on Friday, Mutodi admitted that while his tweets had been framed as matters of principle and parliamentary oversight, they could not be substantiated “beyond reasonable doubt” and therefore risked being defamatory.
“I therefore wish to issue an apology, unreservedly to Mr George Guvamatanga for the reputational damage the tweets may have caused, and I have made instructions that the tweets be erased with immediate effect,” Mutodi said.
However, the apology appeared carefully crafted, as Mutodi did not explicitly retract the substance of his accusations. Instead, he framed the controversy as part of Parliament’s constitutional oversight role under Section 119(3), suggesting his concerns were grounded in governance principles rather than personal attacks.
The move comes after a private telephone conversation between Mutodi and Guvamatanga, which the legislator said prompted him to reconsider escalating the matter further.
Political observers noted that while the apology may ease tensions with the Ministry of Finance, Mutodi’s statement leaves lingering questions about the integrity of the government’s payment systems and the Permanent Secretary’s conduct, issues that remain unresolved despite the conciliatory tone.
The episode highlights growing frictions within the state’s financial management structures, where accusations of corruption and lack of transparency have often collided with institutional pressures to maintain public confidence.
