COTTCO Scandal: US$70 Million Vanishes as Farmers Suffer, Governance in Crisis

Harare, Zimbabwe  – A shocking exposé has rocked the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe Limited (COTTCO), revealing that over US$70 million in crucial funding has allegedly been mismanaged within a single year. This staggering revelation comes as COTTCO continues to fail in its fundamental duty to pay thousands of struggling cotton farmers, sparking outrage and raising serious questions about corporate governance and accountability within state-linked entities.

The bombshell dropped during a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee hearing on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. John Mangudya, the Chief Executive of the Mutapa Investment Fund, laid bare the grim reality: despite receiving massive financial injections, COTTCO remains a financial black hole, unable to meet its obligations to the very people who sustain the cotton industry.

Mangudya’s testimony painted a damning picture. He disclosed that COTTCO benefits from approximately US$60 million annually in government-backed input support. On top of this, the Mutapa Investment Fund injected an additional US$11 million last year, specifically intended to help clear COTTCO’s mounting debts. Yet, despite this colossal sum – a total exceeding US$70 million – the company still failed to settle an estimated US$25 million in debts.

“This points to serious financial mismanagement,” Mangudya asserted, directly implicating COTTCO’s board and executive for their glaring failures in oversight. He highlighted a disturbing pattern of corporate governance lapses and strong indications of financial irregularities that demand immediate and thorough investigation. In a particularly egregious revelation, Mangudya confirmed that a significant portion of the US$11 million from Mutapa – approximately US$6.6 million – which was explicitly allocated for farmer payments, was instead diverted to service bank debts. This desperate move was reportedly made under duress, as lenders threatened to seize company assets, leaving farmers in the lurch.

In a move that smacks of crisis management, COTTCO’s board resolved on April 28, 2026, to place the company under voluntary corporate rescue. This decision, made under Section 122 of the Insolvency Act (Chapter 6:07), acknowledges the company’s dire financial state, characterized by crippling liquidity constraints, astronomical debt levels, and an ever-growing pile of arrears. While Mangudya attempted to spin this as a “strength” – a necessary intervention to protect COTTCO and facilitate investigation – the reality is that it exposes a profound systemic failure.

“The process that we have taken is a good one because the corporate rescue practitioner will investigate what was happening,” Mangudya stated, attempting to reassure a skeptical public. He insisted that the appointment of corporate rescue practitioners, Farai Chibisa and Ian Mtetwa of Grant Thornton Zimbabwe, would not halt any ongoing investigations or forensic audits. Their mandate is to oversee the restructuring and implement a turnaround strategy, with COTTCO optimistically claiming viability due to its asset base and market presence.

However, this optimism rings hollow for the thousands of cotton farmers who remain unpaid, their livelihoods jeopardized by what appears to be gross negligence and potential corruption. The scale of this alleged financial mismanagement is set to ignite a firestorm of demands for accountability. The corporate rescue process, while perhaps a legal necessity, must not become a shield for those responsible. It must serve as a conduit for a comprehensive, transparent review of COTTCO’s financial affairs, with a clear commitment from Mangudya that any evidence of wrongdoing will be met with decisive action. The Zimbabwean public, and especially its hardworking farmers, deserve nothing less than full transparency and justice for this egregious misuse of public and farmer funds.