Paidamoyo Muzulu

RESERVE Bank Governor Gideon Gono has confirmed the long-held suspicion that Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa selectively used the State Indebted and Reconstruction Act to legally expropriate Mutumwa Mawere’s assets owned through Shabanie & Mashaba Mines Holdings (SMMH).
Gono made the startling revelation when he appeared before the Mines and Energy Portfolio Committee on Monday to give evidence on the status of Shabanie and Mashaba Mines.

The mines have since collapsed under State-appointed administrator Arafas Gwaradzimba.

SMMH was put under reconstruction in 2004 when Mawere was specified on charges ranging from externalisation of funds to maladministration.

The central bank governor made the remarks in response to a question by committee chairman Edward Chindori-Chininga on whether SMMH was selectively targeted by the minister for reconstruction since it was not the only company which owed money to the Reserve Bank under the Public Sector Fund.

Gono responded: “I don’t know whether I should make a comment after a stated fact.”

The RBZ chief said he hoped the SMMH saga could have been handled differently had people taken a national economic picture into perspective before placing the company under reconstruction.

“I was of the view that some matters should be handled administratively and not criminally. If the nation is looking for angels and saints in the last 12 years, it would be hard pressed to find one. We should come up with an amnesty that deals with economic crimes. One cannot find a St John or St Luke in terms of commission or omission in this country,” Gono said.

Gono advised the committee that parliament should use its powers to review laws which caused anxiety to investors and retarded the rebuilding of the economy.

“Parliament has a role to play since it can create and uncreate laws. Let everyone say I am not an angel. Whatever I did, I did with good intentions, whether it be Chinamasa or Gwaradzimba.”

He told the committee that the SMMH saga could still be resolved amicably if Chinamasa and Mawere stopped washing their dirty linen in the courts and sought advice to bring an end to the matter.

“We will be happy to assist when called to assist. There should be no counter claims, counter accusations and no circus in the papers. We are a technical institution, reservoir of knowledge and advice.

Let’s come together and work out a solution and have the mines operational under an agreed ownership structure,” said Gono.

He cited the central bank’s intervention in resuscitating collapsed banks, such as Royal, Trust and Time, after they had wound down due to alleged criminal charges against their senior managers and directors.

The SMMH saga has dragged on in the courts for years and has a record 25 applications and counter applications to resolve the company’s ownership.

The legal battles have been fought primarily in Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Zambia.

Ownership of shares in SMMH remains unresolved and Gono told the committee that despite the payment of US$2 million to a UK firm, Turner & Newell, the RBZ had still not seen the share certificates.

The committee has so far heard evidence from all the central players in the SMMH saga, including Mawere, Gwaradzimba, Chinamasa and Ministry of Home Affairs officials who handled Mawere’s specification and despecification. 

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