-country not under trade sanctions
MARTIN MAWAYA
HARARE-The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Panonetsa Mangudya has dismissed snippets from the unscreened documentary by the Qatar based Al-Jazeera television network alleging that the apex bank is tangled in illicit gold dealings, money laundering and corruption.
In a statement released today, Dr Mangudya said the RBZ bank is strongly concerned by the strange reports claiming that “through the Bank, Government is using illicit ways as a scheme to burst international sanctions placed on political leaders and government entities”.
He said the Central bank is deeply “disturbed by sensationally wild, false and malicious media reports, carried in snippets of an unscreened Al Jazeera documentary, produced by the network’s Investigative Unit, purveying the impression that the Bank is “Southern Africa’s Laundromat” or “Southern Africa’s laundry service” for an alleged African gold mafia involved in illicit gold dealings, corruption and money laundering”.
“It is unbelievable that such bizarre claims, allegedly made by private individuals who have no relationship with the Bank whatsoever, have been elevated to gospel truths and published with reckless abandon.
“The Bank is not a sanctioned entity, and the cited individuals are not sanctioned persons either. There are no sanctions on Zimbabwean exports and imports, including trade in gold, to warrant Zimbabwe to “circumvent international sanctions” through illicit trade in gold. As such, the claim that there is “a scheme to bust international sanctions using illicit ways” shows beyond doubt that the peddlers of this narrative have a sinister agenda with nefarious objectives of tarnishing both the Bank and the Republic of Zimbabwe,” said Dr Mangudya in a strongly worded statement.
Mangudya added that, it was outrageous as the snippets only cited a few boastful name dropping individuals and omitted the Bank’s responses to 32 questions Al Jazeera Investigative Unit posed to the bank in connection with the allegations.
In apparent reference to multi award winning freelance journalist and film maker, Hopewell Chingono, the apex bank governor pointed out that “It is disturbing that the scurrilous allegations have largely been widely and recklessly reported by a well-known and outspoken social media activist, elements of the local media and Zimbabwean-linked digital media platforms, who are closer to home to take responsibility by independently verifying the damaging and unproven allegations before publishing or peddling them. It is disappointing and deplorable that Zimbabweans are at the forefront of spreading malicious falsehoods about the Bank and the country”.
He said the cited individuals neither work for nor represent the Bank in any capacity; hence the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit should have also publicized the snippets responses from the bank for the sake of transparency.
Mangudya added that “the Bank reserves its rights to take appropriate legal action or initiate necessary sanctions against the interviewees and purveyors of the fake news to protect its fiduciary responsibilities in the national interests”.
In a snap survey people expressed mixed feelings about the apex bank’s Press release, some said it was uncalled for, for Dr Mangudya to respond strongly to something that is half baked while others said the governor had to quickly respond in order to restore trust from stakeholders as it is the custodian of the country’s purse and the matter is a security risk.
