Controversial businessman Moses Mpofu has testified that his firm submitted a bank guarantee from MetBank to the Ministry of Agriculture as financial assurance for the now-questioned $7 million goat project.
The guarantee, presented as Exhibit 18 at the High Court, was issued in February 2022.
Mpofu told the court that the ministry only awarded the contract after verifying the legitimacy of the MetBank document. A few days after the verification, he was summoned to the ministry to formally sign the agreement.
Addressing allegations of misrepresentation, Mpofu denied using an unregistered entity to secure the deal.
He explained that the ministry draughted the agreement under the name “Black Deck Livestock and Poultry”, although the correct legal entity is Black Deck Private Limited.
According to Mpofu, “Black Deck Livestock” was merely a trading name for the registered company.
He pointed out that this distinction was also confirmed by a ministry legal officer who gave evidence earlier in the trial.
The hearing has been postponed to August 4 for continuation.
