ZiG is backed by threats and other harassment means

GOOD day, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Your Excellency, amid the murmurs and rumours of your pondering over a third term in office, scripture admonishes citizenry, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human traditions and basic principles of this world.” Col 2:8.

Meanwhile, my thoughts are that the Zimbabwe Gold currency (ZiG) is backed by threats and other harassment means.

Consequently, the indignant repression on money changers. Their clampdown is disproportionate to the catch and release of corruption and illicit financial flows practitioners.

Verily, government is not stopping anytime soon from yelling the war cry on them.

As money changers are subjected to long pre-trial detention periods, methinks it is a fraudulent application of the principles of equitability of the law that the practitioners of high office corruption and land barons are protected from prosecution.

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Your Excellency, it appears to me that after Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mushayavanhu declared that he was not to blame for the shortcomings of ZiG, he should have been promptly recalled from the headship of the apex bank.

His utterances could not have passed as inadvertent. Actually, he sought to recuse himself from accountability.

His distancing himself from responsibility aught not have been taken lightly.

Methinks it is a decision that he made consciously, mindful that  he had practically expelled himself from the management team that keeps an attentive eye on the heartbeat of the monetary policy and financial performance of the country.

I am of the mindset that notwithstanding the history of failed local currencies, the groundswell of mistrust for ZiG is because it is backed by threats and other harassment means on one hand, and inept management on the other.

Given the incoherent narratives on ZiG that Mushayavanhu has given, ethics warrant him to step down from the governorship position.

He initially claimed that ZiG was the brainchild of the World Bank (WB). He later said the Zimbabwean authorities did not know about structured currency.

“I am not to blame for ZiG’s shortcomings as most of input came from WB. We did not know much about structured currency. A lot of the things you are seeing about the structured currency actually came from WB. So, if you are going to blame me, you actually are blaming WB,” he whimpered.

Your Excellency, I reckon it must be after the issuance of this statement that he must have been recalled.

His untruthful utterance rendered him unfit for the office he holds.

It was a national embarrassment that WB was compelled to disprove him.

Thereafter, he became a liability to RBZ given that his word was no longer bankable.

Little wonder, despite the government measure to allow market forces to determine the exchange rate, ZiG remains a constrained currency.

As if mistrust is not an inhibitor, ZiG is also hampered by communication ineptitude, notably on the part of Mushayavanhu.

His contradictory statements, coupled with the tribal trite he spewed during his celebration party with his family at his Gutu rural home, confirm his communication inadequacy.

Lest we forget, his ranting that  all former RBZ governors were from Manicaland province was an absolute triviality.

Methinks he could have emerged wiser had he not prioritised a gathering of his rural folk over consultation with such organisations as the Zimbabwe Economic Society and the Institute of Bankers, among others.

His recent claims that ZiG notes and coins were issued in sufficient quantities to meet demand for small transactions and change, a visit to any supermarket will prove him mistaken, if not altogether wrong.

With all due respect, owing to the contradictions of his statements, Mushayavanhu has lost credibility.

His claim of being the initiator of ZiG, which he made after a series of denials, diminished his credibility. Hence, ZiG  is backed by threats and other harassment means.

All things being equal, his statement calling for a back-to-basics agenda for RBZ to regain the lost market trust in the apex bank’s institutional credibility and present itself with dignified confidence to fulfil its obligations to the citizenry aspirations for improved social and economic well-being was meritable.

His declaration that it will not be business as usual for his management team and staff topped the icing on the cake.

And, the acknowledgement that the market had lost confidence and trust in the credibility and impact of the central bank’s policies over the years was as remarkable as it was conspicuous by its rarity in government circles.

As Mushayavanhu spoke to his management and staff last month, pointing out to the need to undergo personal transformation as well as develop a new RBZ brand that would culminate in the rebuilding of credibility and relevance of the central bank to citizenry at large, the communication deficit he wrought upon himself by his contradictory statements must have come back to haunt him.

“We are aware that the market has lost confidence and trust in the credibility and impact of the central bank’s policies over the years, and this calls for a focused reorientation and change in the way we do things in pursuit of our statutory mandate. It is expected of all of us to adjust to accepting this paradigm shift of a new work culture that will ingrain in us a responsibility to provide operational effectiveness and excellence,” he implored, asserting that it was imperative to acknowledge that our strategy will be in our structures.

He made a vow for a comprehensive reorganisation and reorientation of the RBZ tasks, people, structures, systems, culture, decision-making and policymaking processes to successfully carry out the core commitments and obligations. Granted, he too needs to address  the blemish to his reputation.

Your Excellency, as I see it, ordinarily, RBZ publics expect the governor to be  circumspect in his communication. Meanwhile, ZiG is backed by threats and other harassment means.

• Cyprian Muketiwa Ndawana is a public-speaking coach, motivational speaker, speechwriter and newspaper columnist.