“First of all, let me put things into context,” Guvamatanga
told the Standard by phone from Victoria Falls yesterday. “The issue of
saying the artistes were paid more is not correct. The clip was quoted out of
context. I was saying to Louis Mhlanga, one of Zimbabwe’s most decorated
musicians that if I had the money, I would have paid five times more than we
agreed.
“It was a tribute to Louis Mhlanga. You know that I cannot
take foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and spend it like this.
I worked for a big international bank for 30 years and I was paid in offshore
accounts. There are millions in that account. Others avoid paying taxes when
they are paid through offshore accounts, but Barclays was strict.
“And if you ask Zimra (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) they
will tell you that I was one of the biggest taxpayers during my stint at
Barclays Bank. I paid between US$2 million and US$3 million in taxes, the
records are there. Now, if I paid US$3 million, ndakasara nemarii? (How much
remained in my account?).
“My package at Barclays, including my bonus was US$3
million. It is all above board, I have a known offshore account, and have interests across most sectors of the
economy, from insurance to agriculture to distribution and others.
“I will need to take you to my farm, I have 1 200 cattle. My
business interest and wealth are known and everything has been declared. I
cannot pretend to be poor. Most of my cattle fetch not less than US$2 500
(each), and I sell 500 cattle per annum. So why can’t I celebrate life?”
“I planned for this party after my near-death experience
with Covid-19. So, what I am doing is celebrating the life. I can’t stop my
wife and children from organising the party because they said when you reach 50
years; we will need to celebrate because of what happened.
“I cannot pretend to be poor to make people happy. I am not
poor. I am so surprised that people are judging me with the three years that I
have been a civil servant, instead of the 30 years that I worked for Barclays. I
am doing national service in government. I have a trust that is paying the
bills for a cancer patient, an amount more than what was paid to the artists.
“And I have a maid who I have stayed with for many years,
and I bought her a house.”
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