RESERVE Bank chief Gideon Gono has conceded that the central bank is now just "an empty shell" but sought to shift blame for the problems which include a massive debt pile amounting to some US$1.1billion.

Appearing parliamentary portfolio committee on budget, finance and investment promotion on Monday, Gono claimed that 55 percent of the US$1.1 billion debt was inherited at independence in 1980.

He accpeted that the balance was accrued during his tenure but claimed that the obligations arose from instructions by the government to fund various quasi-fiscal activities including the disputed 2008 general elections.

"I have broader shoulders to say that whatever we did, we erred (but) the problem was with the laws of the country which were coined by the MPs themselves,” Gono said.

"The (central bank) is a creature of legislation and when such instructions were given in terms of the law, it was legally necessary for me to follow them. There also has been a misconception to believe the $1.1bn debt is a creation of Gono."

Regarding the inflationary mayhem of the last few years, Gono said he was under instructions from the government to come up with measures to mitigate sanctions imposed by the West but said it was time to stop the blame game over past mistakes and move on.

“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,” he said.

“In order to lay to rest everything or anything to do with the past I would say blame it on the Governor. 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."

Gono said that the situation at the bank was far from “a disaster” suggesting that the RBZ’s obligations were manageable relative to the country’s overall debt situation.

"You cannot say this constitutes a disaster because the total debt of this country is over $8bn and the (central bank) debt is only an eighth of that," he said.

The RBZ, he added, was now working on the disposal of various non-core assets, companies and investments to settle part of its liabilities.

Assets and investments that have already been put up for sale include investments in Astra, Tractive Power, Thuli Coal, Cairns, Carslone Enterprises, Fidelity Printers and Refinery and the Venture Capital Company.

The RBZ virtually ran the country’s economy over the last decade, printing money to fund almost all government activities including elections and the acquisition of farming equipment.

Critics insist the runaway inflation levels experienced then was a result of Gono’s penchant for keeping the printing presses hot and throwing worthless Zimbabwe dollars at any problem.

But Gono argues that his interventions helped prevent the total collapse of the country's economy.

The government decision to ditch the Zimbabwe dollar and replace it with more stable foreign currencies in 2009 ended the RBZ glory days, leaving the instituton with massive debts for which it has also faced litigation in the courts.

Staff numbers at the institution which had bloated to more than 2000 have since been reduced with about 75 percent being allowed to leave.

Primrose Kurasha, who chairs the bank’s human resources committee, said the bank had allowed 1455 employees to leave but added the institution did not have the money to pay their retrenchment packages.