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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 46281, member: 636"] Businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei sparked controversy Wednesday after telling university students that Zimbabweans without government contracts are foolish. The Sakunda Holdings founder spoke at the National University of Science and Technology. He defended himself against accusations of being a tenderpreneur. Tagwirei argued that government remains the biggest buyer and seller. He urged people to pursue state contracts rather than avoid them. The wealthy entrepreneur claimed his critics feel jealous because they cannot secure tenders. Tagwirei said white people created the term tenderpreneur to stop black people from accessing government business. He recently joined the ruling party central committee amid speculation about presidential ambitions. His companies have earned billions from state deals. The Command Agriculture program alone brought Sakunda Holdings three billion dollars. These massive payments caused the local currency to collapse completely. The United States and Britain imposed sanctions on Tagwirei and his businesses. American officials accused him of using political connections to gain contracts and hard currency access. They said he gave expensive gifts like luxury cars to senior government leaders. His business empire grew dramatically after former president Robert Mugabe left office. Economist Tinashe Murapata criticized the businessman for mocking ordinary citizens. He noted that Command Agriculture never went through proper tender processes. The treasury bills given to Tagwirei came from pension funds and bank deposits. Businessman Kuda Musasiwa said the current system only benefits companies with political connections rather than creating fair competition. [/QUOTE]

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