HARARE — Zimbabwe’s tax authority has launched a formal information-gathering exercise targeting properties in the exclusive Borrowdale Brooke estate, with sources saying the probe focuses on 25 houses linked to Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga.
George Guvamatanga
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has demanded detailed records from the Borrowdale Brooke Homeowners Association, including the names of property owners and tenants, lease commencement dates and contact details.
The request was made under Section 39 of the Income Tax Act. After obtaining legal advice, the association determined it is obliged to comply and will release the information.
Sources familiar with the operation told investigative outlet Takabatana that ZIMRA is specifically seeking to establish the ownership and tax position of the 25 properties associated with Guvamatanga.
Guvamatanga, a former chief executive of Barclays Bank Zimbabwe, has served as permanent secretary in the Finance Ministry since 2018 and holds responsibility for the management of public finances and revenue policy.
The scale of the reported holdings places a senior Treasury official under scrutiny over an extensive property portfolio in one of Harare’s most upmarket estates.
The inquiry occurs against a backdrop of intensifying competition over wealth and influence among Zimbabwe’s political and business elite under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Figures such as businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Wicknell Chivhayo have risen to prominence through state-linked deals. Critics refer to this network as the “Zvigananda” establishment.
Guvamatanga has previously been linked to these circles. In 2021, Tagwirei was reported to have chartered a private jet for Guvamatanga and his wife for a trip related to Arsenal, with associated spending of about US$50,000 covered by the businessman.
Sources describe the Borrowdale exercise as part of a broader contest in which state institutions, including the tax authority, are increasingly used in elite power struggles rather than solely as routine revenue tools.
If completed, the inquiry could map ownership across one of Zimbabwe’s wealthiest residential enclaves and place properties tied to a top Treasury official at the centre of that picture.
ZIMRA and Guvamatanga had not issued public statements on the matter as of Monday.
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