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| Under fire RBZ Governor |
THE opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded an audit of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) accounts which it says will lift the lid on the real causes of the current cash crisis.
In a statement Wednesday, party secretary for finance and economic affairs, Vince Musewe accused the central bank of being the real cause of the current cash crunch that has seen banks limiting cash withdrawals by depositors.
To remedy the situation, the RBZ has belled the cat though an unpopular decision to introduce bond notes into circulation while blaming the crisis on a slew of reasons, among them a giant national import bill which was disproportionate to its exports.
The development has triggered panic withdrawals among bank account holders still with fresh memories of the 2008 economic turmoil characterised by a record inflation which scaled 230 million percent.
Musewe attributed the current cash shortages to continued raids on the Real Time Gross Services (RTGS) balances by the apex bank to pay for its own recurrent expenditures.
He accused Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa and RBZ governor John Mangudya of failure to come clean of the real cause of the crisis and the motive behind the pending introduction of bond notes.
“It is shocking that it has taken a few months since assumption of office for Governor Mangudya to expose himself fully to the watching eyes of the Zimbabweans and the international community,” Musewe said.
“To us, it is clear that the primary cause of the cash shortages is that the government has literally been raiding the Real Time Gross Services (RTGS) balances at the central bank to pay for its own recurrent expenditures.”
The Tendai Biti-led party said the country’s wage bill, which was chewing nearly 80 percent of the national income, was unsustainable and was driving a huge budget deficit, which it estimated to be 30% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
IMF visit to Zimbabwe
“It is our belief that the hole in the RTGS balances is as huge as $2 billion and has left Mr. Chinamasa and Mr. Mangudya with no choice but to commit suicide through the measures announced on 4 May, 2016,” Musewe said.
Bulawayo South MP and economist, Eddie Cross has also accused the Zanu PF-led government of issuing Treasury Bills without restraint, while the RBZ was failing to honour them.
Musewe said Chinamasa and Mangudya must stop lying to Zimbabweans and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which is currently conducting a staff monitored programme on the troubled country after the country has expressed interest to unlock fresh loans from the institution.
“As PDP, the people of Zimbabwe and indeed the international community deserve to know the truth,” said Musewe.
“We therefore demand a forensic audit on the …TBs issued by the State and other incestuous parties like the Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (Zamco) … An audit of all transactions at the RBZ including and in particular the RTGS balances.
“As PDP, we are convinced that in a bid to mislead the public, the RBZ and government have found it convenient to believe that the liquidity crisis is due to foreign currency leakages when the truth is that Chinamasa has been raiding the RBZ coffers, leading to the current cash crisis and long bank queues.
Musewe slammed the “clueless” central bank chief and Chinamasa for allegedly addressing symptoms of a deep rooted economic crisis as opposed to dealing with the real causes.
Source: The Zimbabwean
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