Bond notes challenge spills into the night

HARARE businessman, Frederick Frederick Mutanda’s urgent High Court chamber application challenging the planned introduction of bond notes, started late in the day before Judge President, Justice George Chiweshe.

Source: Bond notes challenge spills into the night – NewsDay Zimbabwe November 23, 2016

BY CHARLES LAITON

In his application, the businessman said the move by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to introduce the bond notes, as a surrogate currency, was unconstitutional and an infringement of his fundamental rights.

In his heads of argument submitted on Monday, Mutanda castigated the government for seeking dismissal of his application on a technical basis.

He said it was “regrettable that in a matter of national importance and one in which constitutional issues had been raised, RBZ governor, John Mangudya and Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa were content to raise points that were designed to prevent a determination of the matter on an urgent basis”.

Mutanda’s submission followed an argument raised by Mangudya and Chinamasa, in their heads of argument, that he (Mutanda) was not properly before the court and as such, his application ought to be dismissed.

Mangudya and Chinamasa further argued the businessman had shown no legal interest in the matter, but Mutanda dismissed their assertions, urging the court to hear his matter on an urgent basis.

In their combined heads of argument, President Robert Mugabe, Chinamasa and Attorney-General Prince Machaya insisted the matter was not urgent and urged the court to dismiss it, arguing Mutanda had not established a clear definite right that had come under threat.

The matter was still in progress at the time of going to print.