Mugabe's cronies strip Zimbabwe of scarce cash: Gono

Mugabe's cronies strip Zimbabwe of scarce cash: Gono

GONO

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ZIMBABWE'S Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono on Friday said President Robert Mugabe's cronies were fuelling the country's runaway inflation through illicit dealings.

Addressing thousands attending a congress of the ruling party, Gono said some top government and ruling party officials were among "cash barons" blamed for the current cash shortages that had seen customers waiting long hours for scarce money.

"We think we are helping some people with money for small to medium size enterprises, they use the money to buy foreign currency on the parallel market and drive inflation," Gono said.

"It's not ordinary members of the party who are doing this. It's the top officials because as we can all see ordinary people have no money."

"Another problem is corruption, corruption, corruption," he added.

"This country is losing a lot of money because of top officials."

He said the central bank released 67 trillion dollars of which 65 million could not be accounted for.

The central bank chief said the country's economy ravaged by high inflation currently at nearly 8,000 percent would recover by end of next year.

He said: "Once we implement what's in our secret bag, this economy will not be the same by this time next year."

Zimbabwe has been experiencing cash shortages since mid-November with banks dispensing half the daily cash limits to customers.

Between May and September 2003, the country experienced similar critical cash shortages that saw customers sleeping outside banks to withdraw their savings.

The southern African country is in the midst of an economic crisis, characterised by the world's highest rate of inflation, shortages of basic foodstuffs like sugar and cooking oil, and mass unemployment. - AFP
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