Why does an economy the size of Bloemfontein need a central bank?
Peta Thornycroft Tendai Biti, the Zimbabwean finance minister, has ring-fenced Gideon Gono, the central bank governor. In a long and petulant letter to Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, this week, Gono accused Biti of “persecuting” him and his family, and of “externalising” money when he was, until February, a partner of Harare law firm Honey and Blankenberg. As news of the letter spread, it sparked laughter and fury. “What a bloody cheek,” said a mine owner who had to shut down because Gono did not pay for gold he was forced to sell to the central bank. Gono raided foreign currency accounts, even those of humanitarian agencies, using the money to pay bills and to import tractors for Zanu PF cronies. “Why is he whinging?” said a businessman who was locked up for three days for sending a few thousand rands to South Africa to import spares for his engineering company. Biti was distressed by the letter. “When I heard about (it), I was so cross I thought I could easily go back to my l
