Blackdeck has denied receiving US$40 million from the government to buy goats and has exonerated Mike Chimombe as a stakeholder.
Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry (Private) Limited is embroiled in an enormous scandal involving taxpayer funds totaling US$87 million for the Presidential Goat Scheme.
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Last week, a Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) internal letter exposing the corruption issue was leaked. According to the commission, Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu secured a $87 million contract from Blackdeck to deliver 632,001 goats to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development in 2021.
The Government gave them a US$40 million advance payment. However, the company never delivered the goats, and Chimombe and Mpofu splashed the millions on luxury cars and mansions. A probe by ZACC at the Registry of Companies revealed that Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry (Private) Limited does not exist. ZACC charged them with theft of trust property and money laundering.
Chimombe and Mpofu appeared at the ZACC offices yesterday. Still, they left without being interviewed after the Investigations Officer Henry Chapwanya said he was busy with another case and would call them.
The company has released a statement to firefight the allegations levelled against it by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
Blackdeck acknowledged winning the Ministry of Lands tender as the lowest of three bids. After getting the 5-year contract to supply goats, Blackdeck said it received RTGS1.6 billion, about US$4.2 million at the interbank rate.
“The funds were used to cover the procurement of the goats, set up holding pens and goat centres, provide vaccination and general veterinary service to the goats, logistics to different provinces, security, feeding of the goats whilst in quarantine, tagging, salary and labour related costs of the employees among many other expenses,” Blackdeck explains.
“Mr Mike Chimombe is not a shareholder or a director of Blackdeck (Private) Limited. He is not a signatory to any Blackdeck accounts. We did not receive US$40 million from the Government of Zimbabwe.”
