HARARE - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono yesterday
apologised “on behalf of everyone” for the chaotic period in which the
country’s inflation reached unprecedented levels and where the central bank
accrued debts of $1,1 billion.
Gono yesterday told parliament’s budget, finance, economic planning and
investment promotion portfolio committee that he acted on instructions from
government when the Central Bank embarked on quasi-fiscal activities.
He said the RBZ had since “repented” saying the bank was now concentrating
on core business. Gono urged Zimbabweans to look forward.
Gono, who stands accused of printing money to fund mostly Zanu PF aligned
activities that included farm mechanisation, parcelled out vehicles to
almost every government department and many other quasi-fiscal activities.
The RBZ governor said he had instructions to embark quasi-fiscal activities
“as a measure against sanctions.”
Gono also confirmed that the RBZ funded the controversial 2008 elections and
revealed that government owes the central bank more than $1,4 billion. He
explained that of the $1,1 billion debt, they inherited more than 60 percent
from previous regimes.
“I have accepted responsibility and blame for everybody’s difficulties. I
will not even go to talk about the politics or the sanctions or anything.
Yes, it was the wrong advice of the central bank and we have repented and
are hoping that our advice can be listened to, today and tomorrow,” Gono
said.
“In order to lay to rest everything or anything to do with the past I would
say blame it on the Governor and I have got broader shoulders to accept and
say yes, whatever we did we erred, if we erred.”
“If we go onto trying to say how this was done you will only find one black
sheep and that black sheep in the Governor,” he said.
He said the central bank’s assets that have been valued to date are worth
$86 million but the parliamentary portfolio committee requested that the RBZ
board furnish them with all the assets that the bank owns including shares
in other companies.
“I am requesting that information of the board and of all assets in the name
of the Reserve Bank including shares so that we can take it up with the
Executive as to why they would want the Reserve Bank to continue to hold on
to those assets. It is important that I ask for that information,” Paddy
Zhanda, the chairperson of the committee.
Gono told the committee that the bank will engage in a second round of
disposals that will include all the other assets that still remain.
“There are also some (assets) where we have shareholdings where we could
unlock no less than $50 million and we are still in debate in the board as
to the desirability of us continuing to own those kinds of companies. We
want out of any company,” Gono said.
At the height of his governorship the RBZ raided foreign currency accounts
of individuals and corporates with the money directed to government use
without the authority of the affected individuals or organisations.
The central bank spent all the funds that were kept as statutory reserves.
The funds are still owed the affected people.
He pleaded with the portfolio committee to persuade government to take over
the debt with some legislators claiming what he did was illegal.
“The challenge we are facing is one where we need to give back to various
stakeholders monies that the central bank took from their accounts under
instruction."
“We need to quickly do that so that we can return some of the monies we kept
as statutory reserves, as FCAs and to ordinary citizens and to corporates.
That is something we are forever trying to cry,” Gono said.
He said Section 8 of the old RBZ Act that was amended last year, gave
government through the Finance Minister to give instructions to him adding
that all that was for him is to obey.
“The comforting part is that when in the legislators in their wisdom they
put a clause which allowed the Minister of Finance to give directives, which
directives are lawful and therefore ought to be followed that was a bit of
an oversight on the part of the legislature. I was obeying orders,” Gono
said.
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