Gono evangelises about economic turn-around

Gono evangelises about economic turn-around

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By Cris Chinaka

ZIMBABWE'S central bank governor Gideon Gono holds one of the toughest jobs in the world, but he rejects suggestions he is condemned to fail in his mandate.

The man charged with pulling Zimbabwe out of a deep economic crisis widely blamed on his boss -- President Robert Mugabe -- speaks with an almost evangelical fervour about a mission which many analysts say looks impossible.

On Monday Gono delivers what may be his most important monetary statement since his appointment 2-1/2 years ago: a bid to convince a sceptical nation that he can revive the economy despite a raft of facts suggesting he has already failed.

The World Bank says Zimbabwe has the fastest shrinking economy outside a war zone after eight years of recession.

Its beleaguered people are saddled with an inflation rate of 1,180 percent -- the highest in the world -- 70 percent unemployment, chronic fuel and energy shortages, mounting debts and isolation by Western donors.

Gono says he accepted his job because he relishes the challenge. With Zimbabwe's huge but largely unexploited resources of gold, platinum, coal, chrome, copper, and uranium he sees a potentially very prosperous country.

"I would never have accepted this assignment if I believed that it cannot be done," he told Reuters in a recent interview.

"I am part of a team which believes that with unity, hard work, commitment and the full utilisation of all our resources, Zimbabwe can overcome its current problems and realise its real potential," he said.

Gono's challenge is to introduce measures to tame rampaging inflation and ease controls on an official forex market which is dwarfed by an illegal one where the greenback is selling at more than four times the official rate of $1=Z$101,195.

Analysts believe another devaluation of the sliding local currency is on the cards on Monday.

When Gono came on board, he applied a crackdown on errant bankers and set to tackle black market trade with some success.

Inflation initially fell, but analysts say he has been let down by the government's loose fiscal policy and his own tendency to be inconsistent.

They also maintain that while Gono enjoys Mugabe's confidence, he lacks the political muscle to steer the economy out of a freefall critics blame on skewed government policies, including the seizure of white-owned farms for blacks.

Mugabe says without Gono's efforts Zimbabwe would be worse off. Critics say Mugabe's hardline politics and confrontation with Western powers have left his central bank boss unable to tempt investors outside of Asia, Russia and the Middle East.

Gono routinely brushes off as "patronising" questions about his relations with Mugabe and senior government officials or suggestions that he is tied on a short leash.

"I think that's a divisive approach, and very patronising. I don't accept the argument that our leaders don't mean well for the country," he said - Reuters
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