HARARE - As the Nieebgate saga drags on, Parliament says it is going to haul Savior Kasukuwere, the minister of  Youth Development,  Indigenisation and Empowerment who is at the centre of the economic empowerment storm, to answer charges of underhand dealings.

The parliamentary portfolio committee on Mines and Energy says it will grill the minister when Parliament reopens on May 7.

The expected parliamentary probe comes at a time when the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has appealed to President Robert Mugabe to intervene in the intriguing drama of corruption and deceit that was first reported by the Daily News.

Last month, the Daily News exposed apparent flaws in the $971 million Zimplats deal — touted as the biggest empowerment deal since independence in 1980.

Other indigenisation deals for top-earning companies have also since been questioned, triggering the portfolio committee to take action.

Mugabe touched the matter briefly when he admitted that Kasukuwere got it wrong on indigenisation during his 89 birthday newspaper interview.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the other hand has already called for an inquiry into the empowerment scam which exposes how the Ministry of Youth and Empowerment could have facilitated dodgy deals.

Vice President Joice Mujuru has also since waded into the storm, saying: “Empowerment and indigenisation are not exclusive. We need to hold dear our God-given resources so that they can benefit all of us not a few individuals.”

Moses Mare, MP for Chiredzi West and a member of the portfolio committee on Mines and Energy, confirmed to the Daily News that Kasukuwere will in May be summoned when parliament reconvenes.

“We are going to have a caucus and determine how to deal with the case that is really embarrassing us as a country. We cannot have ministers behaving like that. Even the president (Mugabe) indicated that Kasukuwere got it wrong.

“As Parliament, we therefore think it is imperative for him to explain to us how these deals were implemented. That Kasukuwere is going to appear before our committee is already on the agenda,” said Mare.

The MDC legislator said there was need for government to stop corruption especially in the lucrative mining sector.

Legislators want Kasukuwere to explain how deals worth millions of dollars were awarded to Brainworks Capital Management (Brainworks), a private equity investment.

The Indigenisation minister is set to be asked to account how Brainworks managed to clinch the multi-million dollar transactions without going to tender.

Any government transaction worth more than $300 000 must be put to tender, but State Procurement Board chairperson, Charles Kuwaza has said there was no tender whatsoever giving Brainworks the green light to handle the transactions.

Legislators say Kasukuwere’s ministry which is fighting tooth and nail to shield itself from further scrutiny by stakeholders including Zacc, will have to explain the “shoddy empowerment deals”.

Edward Chindori Chininga the chairperson of the Mines and Energy Committee yesterday could neither confirm nor deny the impending probe.

Chininga said committee members are presently seized with the constitution making process and would only discuss issues on the agenda after the referendum, which will be held tomorrow, March 16.