Minister of Industry and Trade Obert Mpofu of Zimbabwe

PP class=story-body/PP class=story-bodyMpofu was convicted in May by a six-member privileges committee chaired by Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, of charges of lying under oath.

Obert Moses Mpofu is a Zimbabwean politician, currently serving as Minister of Industry and International Trade.

Mpofu was at the forefront encouraging trade between Zimbabwe and China, as part of the government's Look-East policy.

Obert Mpofu has been nominated again as the ZANU-PF candidate for the House of Assembly seat from Umguza constituency in the March 2008 parliamentary election.

Mpofu was initially endorsed as unopposed, but Mark Mbayiwa challenged this in court and was successful in getting Mpofu's unopposed endorsement overturned.

Obert Mpofu is within the scope of WikiProject Zimbabwe, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe-related topics.

Speaker of Zimbabwe's House of Assembly John Nkomo on Thursday ruled that Industry and International Trade Minister Obert Mpofu is guilty of contempt of Parliament for giving false evidence.

20 this year, Mpofu said there were people that were making money out of ZISCO Steel while the company was bleeding.

Mpofu is accused of lying under oath before the committee on industry and trade.

Zimbabwe: State Threat to take over Companies is seriousDate Posted: Monday 17-Sep-2007Harare - The Zimbabwe government's threat to take over companies defying controversial price controls is not a joke, Industry Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted as saying on Monday.

var yahooBuzzArticleSummary = "The Zimbabwe government\'s threat to take over companies defying controversial price controls is not a joke, Industry Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted as saying Monday.

Industry and International Trade Minister Obert Mpofu said price cuts of up to 50% had been ordered overnight, claiming a recent spiral in prices was part of a plot to topple the government.

Mpofu said that goods and services whose prices should be reduced include bread, salt, transport, sugar and newspapers, and that retailers should revert to prices charged on June 18.

Gulf Times – Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper - Zimbabwe govt threat to take over firms â€کno joke’Zimbabwe govt threat to take over firms â€کno joke’Publish Date: Tuesday,18 September, 2007, at 07:29 AM Doha TimeHARARE: The Zimbabwe government’s threat to take over companies defying controversial price controls is not a joke, Industry Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted as saying yesterday.

Mpofu said the government would assist companies that are facing viability problems soon after the conclusion of the blitz on overcharging businesses, Zimbabwe's Herald Online said on Friday.

Mpofu said Zimbabwe's detractors were busy spreading rumours that the government would order a cut on salaries.

Mpofu said the government would work closely with firms that complied with the directive to revert to June 18 prices.

The Zimbabwe government's threat to take over companies defying controversial price controls is not a joke, Industry Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted as saying on Monday.

While embarking on this project of price stabilisation we are now deep in the process of identifying all those business entities who are for regime change with a view of taking over the companies, Mpofu was quoted as saying by the state-controlled Chronicle newspaper.

Mpofu said although Zimbabwe has an obligation to meet certain regional export commitments, the domestic market came first and that his ministry was in the process of officially notifying governments in the region.

Mpofu said Zimbabwean products, which are not available locally but are found in supermarkets in countries such as Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia include Mazoe Orange Crush drink, cooking oil, sugar, and soft drinks.

To curb smuggling the products out of the country, Mpofu said the government would beef up security along Zimbabwe's borders.

var PageContent= ' Harare - The Zimbabwe government\'s threat to take over companies defying controversial price controls is not a joke, Industry Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted as saying Monday.

Mpofu was Monday due to meet with some major companies including industrial retail giant Edgars, according to the Chronicle.

Industry Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted as saying Monday.

industrial retail giant Edgars, according to the Chronicle.

that he be fined as jailing him would be disproportionate to his offence.

falsified evidencethe committee recommends that he be acquitted.

Cde Mpofu was giving oral evidence on the manner in which the ministry handled an investment arrangement which saw Indian firm Global Steel Holdings assuming control of Ziscosteel without any signed contractual agreement or injecting any funds.

Cde Mpofu said the arrangement with the Indian company had been made without any "dirty hands" and it was those people with vested interests in Ziscosteel that were bent on frustrating the investment drive.

Cde Mpofu said he had liaised with the Minister of State Enterprises, Anti-Monopolies and Anti-Corruption, Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, for a temporary freeze on making public the report on the corrupt activities at Ziscosteel.

Cde Mpofu said the NECI report would be made public later while those implicated in the corrupt dealings would be dealt with in terms of the law.

Cde Mpofu said the issue had been deliberated by the Cabinet Committee on Trade and the decision to settle for the Indian company was arrived at after considering several companies that had been listed.

On why an official from the Indian firm Mr Latif Kumar Segal took over from the then Ziscosteel managing director Dr Godfrey Masanga, Cde Mpofu said this was meant to give an opportunity to Global Steel Holdings to be well versed with the operations of the company.

He then questioned whether the ministry had faith in dealing with such a company, to which Cde Mpofu said it was unfortunate while adding that this was a management issue.

Mpofu said that if Neci’s file on Zisco was to be made public, "there would not be a single investor" in Zimbabwe.

Mpofu is also accused of turning a blind eye to the poaching activities which also involve some influential figures in the province.

This causes uneven distribution of resources which is seen in the marginalisation of whole constituencies and regions, because those that are in control will monopolise resources in the same way Minister Mpofu has done.

In my view, commending what Mpofu has done is applauding blatant corruption.

alienating some of the ex-ZAPU leaders.

Speaker of the House of Assembly John Nkomo yesterday ruled that the Minister of Industry and International Trade Obert Mpofu must be charged for contempt of parliament for allegedly lying under oath when he appeared before a parliamentary portfolio committee in connection with the Zisco looting affair.

Nkomo said Mpofu has a case to answer.

MDC MP Job Sikhala shouted that Mpofu was "finished.

The source said the position on manoeuvres to impeach Mpofu had not yet changed.

Mpofu said government had withheld the report from the public over fears that it would jeopardise talks with Zisco Steel and a foreign investor.

A week later, Mpofu denied informing the committee of the looting and even denied the existence of the report, prompting the committee to request that Nkomo start contempt of parliament proceedings against Mpofu.

The committee will however recommend a custodial or non-custodial sentence, if Mpofu is convicted.

Firstly, Mpofu is under a 24-hour oath, which he took before President Robert Mugabe when he was sworn in as Cabinet minister last year.

Store managers said that Mpofu was asking them to sell goods cheaper than it cost the stores to buy the goods they already held in stock.