Cash Crisis for Christmas

From The Standard, 23 December: Gono labelled 'No. 1 saboteur'

By Ndamu Sandu and Jennifer Dube

Reserve Bank governor, Gideon Gono was labelled the biggest economic saboteur, as thousands of Zimbabweans yesterday endured a nightmarish start to the Christmas and New Year's holidays in long queues for cash. The cash crisis, in its second month, continued unabated yesterday with account holders failing to access their money.... The critics said it was "very cruel" of Gono to plunge the ordinary people into the crisis in a miscalculated move "to fix" people whose identity he knew. In a televised interview on Wednesday, Gono said of the $67 trillion in circulation, the RBZ could only account for $2 trillion, leaving the remainder in the hands of cash barons, among them top politicians and businesspeople. "I know three quarters of them but professional ethics do not allow me to name them...If challenged I would name them," Gono said. But Chibebe said the governor could afford to dilly-dally because the politicians were not being affected by the crisis. "I am yet to see any minister queuing (for cash).... Against all odds, ZBH's FM station at 8am yesterday declared Gono, its "Personality of the Week". But very few people shared State-owned network's adulation of the central bank czar. "I have been to four shops in Avondale," said a Mabelreign parent, who said she and her children were determined to vote in next year's elections. "They will not accept cheques. I cannot get cash from the banks. If I use commuter buses, will they accept cheques?... Assuming that the money was shared equally among the 12 million population, each citizen, including the newly-born babies, would get less than $6 million each and that could hardly buy three square meals!