Ngoni Dapira

THE new Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Dr John Mushayavanhu will officiate the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Manicaland chapter 2024 Monetary Policy review breakfast meeting this morning (Thursday).

The breakfast meeting will be held at Golden Peacock Hotel in Mutare starting at 8am. Panelists for the event will be ZNCC vice- president Manicaland region Raymod Mavhumashava, Mutare based economist and academic Thomas Masese, renowned Mutare real estate businessman and former ZNCC chairman Joseph Sanhanga and ZNCC chief executive officer Chris Mugaga. There will also be a cover charge of US$40 per person or ZIG 542.

ZNCC will be hosting the breakfast meetings countrywide. ZNCC Manicaland and Chiredzi regional manageress, Perpetual Guwila confirmed the event. She said the Manicaland chamber is excited to host the RBZ governor and give the Manicaland business community an opportunity to reflect on the 2024 Monetary Policy and ask questions dogging them.

“We have not had this privilege in a long time as a chamber to host the RBZ governor, especially just after the pronouncement of the Monetary Policy, when arguments are still heated. So we are very honoured and excited and hope our business community will come in numbers to make use of this opportunity to hear from the RBZ governor in person,” said Guwila.

Dr Mushayavanhu who was scheduled to assume office on May 1 was however appointed as governor last month, replacing Dr John Mangudya who was at the helm since 2014 after being appointed by the late President Robert Mugabe and reappointed in 2018 by the incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Dr Mangudya has however been reassigned to head the Mutapa Investment Fund, formerly known as the Sovereign Wealth Fund, an appointment also done by the President in terms of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act.

Dr Mushayavanhu has been chief executive of FBC Holdings, which owns FBC Bank, since June 2011. He was previously managing director at FBC, and has also worked at Standard Chartered Bank. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a PhD in Business Administration, in addition to other international academic qualifications.

The governor and his three deputies are appointed by the President for five-year terms that may be renewed only for a second term, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act. The governor also serves as chairman of the board.

The former president of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has of late been hard pressed about the introduction of the new currency the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). The ZiG is set to replace both existing ZWL bond notes and the Zimbabwean dollar, launched in 2016 and 2019, respectively. According to the RBZ, the new currency is backed by gold and foreign currency reserves held at the central bank.

ZiG started trading on April 8 at an exchange rate of 13.56 to the US dollar, a rate set by the central bank. Thereafter, the exchange rate will be allowed to float freely. Banks, mobile money platforms, retailers and other intermediaries have all now reconfigured their systems to ZiG. Governor Mushayavanhu is also taking over the central bank steering wheel at a very timorous time when there is a drought in the country whilst mineral prices are fluctuating, both catch-22 situations, which have a negative bearing on price stability.

In other consultation meetings that the new RBZ premier has attended, a lot of concerns have been raised about how confidence in the new currency will be buttressed, given past failures of other currencies introduced, but maybe the veteran banker has a midas touch of his own, which the country really needs at the moment according to some economists, to avoid extreme hyper-inflation, which has happened before after such experiments with the local currency.