Own Correspondent|FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has dismissed allegations that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is at the centre of fuelling parallel market trading in the economy.
“I don’t think the Reserve Bank is part of any illicit activity that is as far as I know. Certainly, the Reserve Bank is part of the solution,” Mthuli Ncube said.
On Sunday evening, Finance Ministry Communications Taskforce Chair Acie Lumumba said in a live video that RBZ directors were behind the leakage of bond notes to the parallel market.
Lumumba claimed to have access to financial intelligence provided to him during briefings with Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube.
Of late, there have been incessant accusations that the monetary authority was actively involved in the parallel market, sourcing hard cash required to sustain key economic requirements such as fuel, wheat, soya bean, and electricity, among other critical imports.
“I don’t think the Reserve Bank is part of any illicit activity that is as far as I know. Certainly, the Reserve Bank is part of the solution and certainly if there’re some allegations like that, obviously, they’re going to be investigated in the usual way like any individual ought to be investigated in the usual way and the long arm of the law will certainly take its course.”
Prof Ncube said the Central Bank was part of the solution to money laundering.
“I don’t know whether there is a ‘mafia’ or any bigwigs involved in the parallel market, but clearly there’re people involved . . . But I can assure the nation that the organs of law are looking into that and are going to deal with that to make sure that illicit behaviour or money laundering in that way stops and individuals who are doing that should curtail those activities and desist from such illicit behaviour,” he said.
The name-dropping of RBZ as allegedly the lead element in the parallel market, has also been understood to be linked to crunchy or new notes within the black market.
Lumumba named RBZ Director Bank Supervision Norman Mataruka, Director Financial Markets Azvinandaa Saburi, Director Financial Intelligence Mirirai Chiremba and Head of Security Gresham Muradzikwa, accusing them of crimes ranging from off-the-books bond notes to corrupt allocation of foreign currency.
He however absolved the RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya of any involvement in what he termed state capture.
“Muradzikwa has more money in his bank account than all his bosses … I do not believe Mangudya is involved,” Lumumba said.
Lumumba went on to accuse Muradzikwa of using his access to the flight manifest that guides the movement of bond notes from a printing press in Eastern Europe up to delivery in Harare.
According to Lumumba, the delivery plane always stops by Mozambique or South Africa where a chunk of the newly minted bond notes are offloaded and then smuggled into Zimbabwe in bales. The notes then find their way into the streets where they are used to wipe off the US dollar, according to Lumumba.
“Five RBZ directors have made Mthuli’s life impossible. I will not allow that. This country is being run by a cartel and Minister Ncube is going to break that cartel … This cartel is being run by Queen B … I used to go to Kasukuwere’s house and Queen B was always there … Queen B gave us the money for the Amai Mugabe rallies.”
Prof Ncube said the Central Bank was no longer playing the lender of last resort function due to the challenges bedevilling the economy.
“Monetary policy has shifted, we have really moved to unconventional monetary policy and desires that we establish a conventional monetary policy.
“So, because of the challenges that the economy has been going through, there are certain cases where the Central Bank has become lender of first resort; the only place through which the country’s credit lines can be sourced so it has to play that upfront role rather than backroom and become a lender of last resort but that will change through the reform agenda that I’ve enunciated through the TSP (Transitional Stabilisation Programme),” he said.
“When we announced the monetary policy statement (2018 mid-term monetary policy statement) we said that we are going to introduce the five percent reserve requirement. That’s actually a very old way to do monetary policy. What you do is use inflation targeting but because we don’t have the full arsenal of tools for monetary policy, we have to use the reserve requirement approach which means mopping up liquidity from the financial system and sterilise it so that its not available for fueling inflation.”