Gono scoffs at Mutsvangwa claim that gold was looted during his time at RBZ

HARARE – Dr Gideon Gono, who served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) from 2003 to 2013, has strongly refuted claims by Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa that the country’s gold reserves were stolen during his tenure.

Gono further criticised the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for wasting public resources investigating the matter in 2021.

Mutsvangwa, in a recent media briefing, alleged that an unnamed governor under the late President Robert Mugabe lost an unspecified quantity of gold to an unnamed Arab country.

Gono dismissed these claims as “blatant lies” and a “wild goose chase” in a lengthy public statement released on April 17th.

“Such brazen lies go unchallenged; they would do irreparable damage to people’s reputations through character assassination and systematic misrepresentation of the facts,” Gono stated.

He further accused Mutsvangwa, who is his uncle, of not knowing “what the situation was when he took over at the helm of the RBZ in December 2003” and claimed the central bank “was broke” with no reserves at the time.

Gono explained that the controversial 2006 deal with a Saudi Arabian jewelry company involved a US$150 million gold-backed transaction.

The agreement aimed to secure a US$600 million line of credit from a South African bank to import critical supplies like electricity and fuel for Zimbabwe, “which was under heavy sanctions at the time.”

“The transaction failed on the other side and all parties reimbursed each other. No gold was mined from underground for further export,” he said.

Gono further stated that the deal never involved the nation’s gold reserves, which he claimed were non-existent when he assumed office.

The former governor also criticised ZACC for wasting public funds investigating the gold deal in 2021 based on Mutsvangwa’s allegations.

“It is this same kind of irresponsible talk we witnessed from Hon. Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa who also happens to be my uncle, which in September/October 2021 led to ZACC spending public money and hours on a wild-goose chase after an anonymous someone misled ZACC to think the same way Zimbabweans have been emotionally whipped to think likewise.

“ZACC carried out extensive investigations into this matter under Ref. 58/12/20 and 102/11/20 examining documents and interviewing RBZ Governor Mangudya, Mr Azvinandaa Saburi (Director of Financial Markets who signed the Contract with Saudis under my authority) and others including myself in September 2021 and concluded that everything was above board and that there was no prejudice to anyone including RBZ and the Nation at large,” Gono said.

Gono urged leaders to “check their facts thoroughly” and expressed his support for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts under the Second Republic.