Mnangagwa Officially Withdraws Controversial General Notice

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has officially withdrawn the General Notice 635 of 2023 which said the procurement and disposal of certain goods by the Ministry of Health and Child Care should not be disclosed in the “national interest”.

The withdrawal is contained in General Notice 851A of 2023 published in an extraordinary Government Gazette by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda. It read in part:

It is hereby notified that His Excellency the President has with immediate effect cancelled the declaration set forth in General Notice 635 of 2023; that general notice is accordingly repealed.

According to the repealed notice which was issued last week, Mnangagwa had declared various goods, among them construction equipment and materials, biomedical and medical equipment, medicines and drugs, and vehicles including ambulances, to be of “national interest” hence their procurement and disposal should not be disclosed.

Sibanda, however, said the document was unauthorised as it did not have his signature. He said:

Upon further investigations, it has come to light that the so-called Government Gazetted Notice is a nullity, having been published without authorisation, and without the signature of the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, as is the norm.

While further investigations are underway, Government wishes to advise the public that, on the instruction of His Excellency the President, the document in question has been rescinded as it has no standing at law, in policy and in terms of set Government procedures. It thus should be disregarded.

General Notice 635 of 2023 caused an uproar as observers argued that it would promote corruption and the looting of funds in public procurement.

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