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RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya talks to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa during the breakfast meeting recently

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Legislators in the Finance and Economic Development Committee called on Government to urgently audit the amount the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe owes its creditors amid indications that some figures contained in the RBZ Debt Management Bill presented to Parliament last week were inflated by up to 2 500 percent.

The RBZ Bill seeks to authorise Government to take over the RBZ debt accrued as at December 31, 2008 and currently stands at approximately $1,35 billion.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa and RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya yesterday appeared before the committee with Bikita West representative Dr Munyaradzi Kereke alleging Meikles Africa Group of fraudulently inflating the amount it is owed by the Central Bank in its audited statements presented to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

“We cannot allow this august house of Parliament going public more so legislating figures that are deliberately inflated by figures up to 2 529 percent. We will be a laughing stock, what are we saying? It is tantamount to Parliament signing a blank cheque to then say go and fill in the blank cheque.

“We can’t allow our financial system to be superintended that way. The figures in this schedule are inflated from an audited perspective by between 25 percent and 2 500 percent and I am saying it is not right to use the infrastructure of Parliament to allow this to happen,” Dr Kereke said.

He said FBC and Afreximbank debt had risen from $1,7 million to $43 million while the figure for corporates whose Foreign Currency Accounts were raided by the RBZ has also risen from $70,5 million to $132 million adding these figures could have been inflated.

On Meikles, he said it was boggling that the debt owed to the company had ballooned to $90 million from $34,1 million in 2008.

“They (Meikles) went on the stock exchange and incorporated and published in their financial statements completely erroneous statements.

“The implications are far much more in the financial system than just the numbers. They create a stock exchange bubble which is tantamount to fraud in fact the Securities Commission should look at this issue closely.

“The effect of artificially presenting falsehoods on the stock exchange will uplift the stock price or keep it where it should not be when it is supposed to fall.

“The stock exchange has been tampered with glaring and deliberate intentions and knowledge by people who know that what they are putting in their books of accounts is completely erroneous,” he said.

Dr Kereke said it was wrong for companies to use Parliament to enrich themselves adding this would put the reputations of the stock exchange and securities commission into disrepute.

The Committee’s Chairperson Mr David Chapfika also concurred that the exact quantum of the RBZ debt had to be verified before the Bill is adopted by Parliament.

“Some of the issues were on the verification of the quantum of the debt. The feeling was that where we are dealing with a debt let’s have a comprehensive solution to the challenges.

“Although there was concern from various stakeholders we as a committee reached a consensus that after the amounts are verified the activity is a noble one to relieve the Central Bank of that burden,” the committee’s chairperson Mr Chapfika said.

Minister Chinamasa agreed to make amendments to the Bill as recommended by the legislators adding only debts that had been verified would be paid.

“We should have a second reading of the Bill (in Parliament) because any amendments will be done at the second reading and go on to the Committee stage so that you give us the platform to amend but I promise you that this list (of creditors) we are going to overhaul dramatically,” Minister Chinamasa said.

On the issue of Meikles he said: “To say there is fraud is a strong statement because it affects a publicly listed company and its management but that fraud will not affect us because when we comb through the figures we will only pay what we owe as to whether Meikles is lying that is another issue that can be referred to the stock exchange or securities commission.”