Lincoln Towindo
Deputy National Editor
Government is planning sweeping reforms to the Mutapa Investment Fund in a move geared to position the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund as a central vehicle in restructuring and commercialising State-owned enterprises to unlock value, improve service delivery and drive industrialisation.
The reform package is set to be rolled out under the National Development Strategy 2, launched by President Mnangagwa recently and starting at the beginning of next year.
Under the mid-term development programme, Government will consolidate and strengthen ownership and oversight of commercial State entities by centralising them under the Mutapa Investment Fund, separating ownership from line ministry control, reducing fragmentation and introducing a professional, investment-driven approach to managing public assets.
Authorities say the move is critical to turning around loss-making enterprises and positioning them as engines of value addition and beneficiation.
According to NDS 2, investee companies under Mutapa offer significant opportunities to anchor structural transformation in key productive sectors, including agro-processing, mining, fertiliser production, water treatment chemicals, veterinary chemicals and timber.
The turnaround of these entities is expected to support downstream industries, enhance export competitiveness and decrease imports.
To strengthen accountability and performance, Government will reinforce oversight mechanisms by developing a comprehensive performance management framework for State-owned enterprises.
This will embed clear incentives and penalties linked to operational efficiency, financial sustainability and service delivery.
Under this system, good performance will be rewarded, while poor performance will attract penalties, such as sanctions against management or leadership changes.
The idea is to ensure State-owned companies are run professionally, use public resources responsibly and deliver real value to citizens and the economy.
“Government will reinforce oversight mechanisms to embed robust systems of incentives and penalties by developing a comprehensive performance management framework over state owned enterprises,” reads the NDS2.
“To ensure State-owned enterprises effectively deliver on their mandates, Government will strengthen the legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks governing them.
“This will include a review of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act; and Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.”
Outlining the new emphasis, the plan states: “During NDS 2, to improve State-owned enterprises performance, Mutapa Investment Fund will:
“Provide financial and technical support towards the implementation of turnaround strategic plans of the entities to achieve commercial viability and optimal performance;
“Ensure improved operational and financial performance, service delivery and citizenry satisfaction, in line with performance targets;
“Pursue partnerships and joint ventures with investors as possible financing mechanisms;
“Dispose some of or acquire equity, as the case demands, as well as divest as part of strategies to deal with its entities to unlock value;
“List some of the performing entities on the stock exchange, in line with the investment strategy, also to deepen and enhance performance of the capital markets.”
The Mutapa Investment Fund is Zimbabwe’s sovereign investment vehicle established to hold, manage and grow the Government’s commercial assets in a professional, transparent and commercially focused manner.
It was created as part of broader public sector and State-owned enterprise reforms to improve the performance of parastatals that for decades have weighed heavily on public finances and service delivery.
Mutapa was formed through the consolidation of Government shareholdings in commercial State entities that were previously scattered across line ministries.
Under the old model, ministries acted both as policy makers and owners, a dual role that often resulted in weak oversight, political interference, poor accountability and chronic underperformance.
Structured as a sovereign wealth and investment fund, Mutapa is mandated to safeguard and enhance the value of national assets, support industrial development and generate long-term financial returns for the State.
Its portfolio spans key sectors of the economy, including mining, energy, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and financial services.
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