Parliament committee summons Gono
02/09/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE parliamentary committee on agriculture has demanded that Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono, reveal the names of people who
benefited from the US$200 million farm mechanisation programme which was
managed by the central bank.
The RBZ chief has admitted that the scheme, carried out between 2007 and
2008, contributed to the central bank’s current US$1 billion debt since most
of the beneficiaries never paid for the equipment.
Legislators suspect the equipment, meant to help newly-resettled farmers who
did not have the resources make productive use of their land, was given
undeserving individuals.
“We made a decision as a committee and we advised Parliament administration
to formally summon the Reserve Bank Governor,” committee chairman Moses Jiri
(MDC-T) confirmed Sunday.
“I can say that he has only two choices, either to come with the list in
person or to send the list to Parliament. However, we would prefer it if he
would bring the list in person.”
In July, Gono clashed with Zanu PF MP Paddy Zhanda when he refused to reveal
the beneficiaries during a hearing before parliament’s budget committee,
saying he was barred from making the information public under sections of
the RBZ Act.
Gono’s refusal to divulge the names of the beneficiaries has received
backing from an unlikely source – his former adviser-turned-critic
Munyaradzi Kereke.
According to Kereke, who has previously appealed to MPs to probe Gono for
alleged corruption, the Farm Mechanisation Programme was a “noble,
legitimate programme that was not and is not illegal and there is no value
in trying to discuss it now”.
He added: “These transactions of the State were legitimate, confidential and
closed and hence must not be looked at to preserve our state security. They
are and they must forever remain State secrets covered under the Official
Secrets Act. No one must breach this. Not me. Not Parliament. Not anyone.”
And Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma claimed the committee could not
investigate the programme unless there was an audit proving funds were
misappropriated.
“For any investigation into this matter to commence, there has to be an
audit that shows misappropriation of public funds,” Zvoma told the Sunday
Mail.
“This has not happened as far as we know. However, even if there was such an
audit, it’s not the mandate of the agriculture committee to look into the
matter… this matter happened years ago and so should be looked into by the
Public Accounts Committee if there is an audit that shows that public funds
were not used properly.
“The terms of reference for the agriculture committee relate to the current
national budget. They look into how funds that were allocated to agriculture
under the current budget are being used. We are shadowing the work of the
current ministers.”
The RBZ says beneficiaries of the programme included 400 chiefs, 2,000
headmen, 60,000 villagers and about 3,000 A2 farmers.
Gono says it was not the responsibility of the bank to ensure beneficiaries
paid for the equipment, insisting the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture
had to make the necessary follow-ups.
“We distributed the machinery with the assistance of the Ministry of
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development and the Grain
Marketing Board,” Gono said when he appeared before the budget committee.
“Beneficiaries received implements according to the sizes of their land and
the ecological regions in which they are operating.
“The GMB and the Ministry identified the beneficiaries. They were the ones
who had information on the farmers and their production records.”