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RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya

Illicit financial flows have this year cost Zimbabwe more than $500 million which is enough to buy maize that can last the country more than six months. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, John Mangudya said the $500 million that the country lost had no bona fide justification. He said some companies are taking advantage of the opening up of the exchange controls to drain money out of the country.

The governor said the companies are abusing the system by transferring company money from company accounts into individual accounts and then taking the money out of the country. Mangudya said there is therefore urgent need to put in place measures to curb the bleeding of the nation through the illicit financial flows.

The central bank governor, however, said what is pleasing is that authorities are now seized with the challenge and are taking measures to deal with the “cancer”. Mangudya said what is painful is that the individuals that are sending money to other countries want to continue operating businesses in Zimbabwe yet their conduct shows lack of confidence.

Mangudya warned those involved in such conduct that they might be asked to go and live where their money is. He said these individuals could not pretend to enjoy living in Zimbabwe.

Mangudya said the country could not entertain situations whereby individuals running businesses in Zimbabwe continue to send their money to countries such as Mauritius, China or Pakistan. “If you aren’t happy with Zimbabwe it’s better you go and live where your money is” he said.

Mangudya said there is a need to improve foreign exchange management systems to ensure compliance. “Systems are there but those people who are given the tasks of implementing our policies must walk the talk,” said Mangudya.

He said one of the measures under the foreign exchange management systems in other countries include cash limits. He said countries such as the US limit daily cash withdrawals to $10,000 per individual. Mangudya said the government could also come up with a legislation compelling mining companies to release production data so that it has information on how much revenue each company is realising per month in order to curb illicit financial flows and money laundering.

The illicit financial flows cannot be allowed to continue because they adversely affect the economy. We want at this juncture to implore the central bank to double its efforts to ensure that all loopholes that are making it possible to drain money out of the country are plugged.

Now that the RBZ is aware that most companies are abusing the system, it must come up with measures to stop this cheating. Individuals that fail to implement government policies should just be removed from the system. The government can only deliver on its promises if its workers’ contracts are results based.

What this means is that those who fail to meet the set targets have no place in the Public Service. We want to once again urge the RBZ to ensure illicit financial flows are drastically reduced next year.