via Chinamasa accuses banks of imposing sanctions | The Source January 15, 2014
Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa has accused local banks of imposing sanctions on the country by reducing lines of credit by 95 percent to $40 million from $800 million over a decade ago.
“They are managing an exit strategy out of our economy,” Chinamasa said at an economic forum on Wednesday. “Why are they doing that, is it because they don’t like the government, they don’t like the country?”
He urged banks to harness resources that he said were awash in the informal sector so that they could be channelled towards economic development.
” They (informal traders) are keeping their money under the pillow. I want innovative ways to tap this value back into the formal sector so that Treasury can reap the benefits through inflows into the fiscus,” he said.
Chinamasa said he wanted help finding solutions to the economic mire and the infrastructural deficit.
“I am reasonably acquainted with the nature of our problems. There is no purpose for you to go to town to tell me what I already know. What we want is to basically come up with solutions that get us out of our situation.
“Don’t rise and repeat that there is a deficit of energy, the roads are in bad conditions, that I already know. What I want to understand is how we can mobilise resources to address these fundamental issues,” he said.
He invited the private sector and any other interested parties to submit suggestions on the 2014 budget by the end of this week so that he could consider them.
“If I think that you have made good ideas, innovative, creative solutions, I will take them on board,” he said.
– See more at: http://source.co.zw/2014/01/chinamasa-accuses-banks-of-imposing-sanctions-on-the-country/#sthash.zcjtqFRD.dpuf
COMMENTS
Does he and his cohorts listen to advice? He is pretending to be genuine. The government is full of garbage like him. Put Zimass et into action as you promised, you directionless,cruel,arrogant,corrupt and very incompetent lot.
Gutu Patrick is one of the most dense people I know of. Every time he opens his mouth a whole lot of rubbish comes out. Why Mugabe has kept confidence in him I DO NOT KNOW. This is another Joseph Made. He has the education but he fails to educate. He has the brain but he fails to think.” They (informal traders) are keeping their money under the pillow” he says. He does not go on to say that this is because people lost billions when the dollar crashed. This is what we have got for another 5 years.
Here’s a suggestion: The President; all Cabinet Ministers; the heads of the Army, Police, CIO & Prison Services and the top five grades within each; all Permanent Secretaries; all Judges; and all officials of the ZANU-PF Central Committee and Politburo; and the spouses of each of the above, must each file a complete personal worth statement explaining their net worth and documenting how it was accumulated.
Once that is completed and the results are printed in both the government gazette and the Herald, then maybe people will start to trust the banks if each of those individuals is required to maintain 80% of their cash assets in a local bank.
Mr. Finance Minister, you and your boss Mugabe should be at the front of the line to lead the country forward to prosperity!
Good call DL. Chinamasa’s approach is typical Zanu-PF. Tell everyone else how to behave whilst doing the opposite themselves.
People are holding on to their money because they don’t want it taxed or stolen. They know that Zanu-PF bigwigs hold their money in overseas accounts or in businesses that are favoured under the feudal patronage system that exists under Mugabe. People believe (probably rightly) that Zanu-PF bigwigs pay little or no tax, and that they don’t even have to pay for the utilities and services they use.
Why should people use banks when the government can raid that money when it suits them?
Why should people pay tax when they operate out of necessity in an informal system because government policies have destroyed the formal business system?
Why should people pay tax when they are living in poverty?
This government has to provide a system and environment that encourages people to contribute. They are a million miles from that at present.
Chinamasa has just proven that he does not understand economics at all.
For the banks to be able to offer lines of credit, they have to have cash depositors. Once the government destroys peoples trust that their money is safe in banks, then the banks have no capacity to make loans without excess cash on deposit. Blaming the banks for the effects of Mugabe and Gono’s foolish fiscal policies just shows how out of his depth Chinamasa is.
You want money Chinamasa? Then raid YOUR MINISTERS foreign held bank accounts. Audit their numerous businesses.
AND OH DONT FORGET YOUR OWN.
When the ordinary Zimbabwean sees an honest Government which has not stolen election after election. When we rid ourselves of these geriatric thieves and murderers. When the Security Forces stop supporting this illigitimate regime, and when the rule of law is upheld, only then will confidence return to the financial sector.
Until then, the banks will continue to close, businesses will continue to close and all but the top dogs in ZANU will suffer.
Chinamasa cash is there to stay under the pillows as long as you remain in power. Don’t blame the banks but yourself and ZANU. Hypocrite you know what is the solution to all these problems. .
The only solution Chinamasa is to hand the country over to the legitimate winners of the last election, then they can start the long and painful rehabilitation process. They at least will have the confidence of the World Bank etc. No-one rightly trusts the den of thieves in power now.
Mr Chinamasa we would all love it if you put sanctions on your mouth. There is nothing that you will say or do that is legitimate.
Why don’t you pack your bags and go and do farming surely what do you expect the banks should do with your policies which don’t make sense at all you can’t expect the zim economy to grow by 6pc with no investment coming in , companies closing down zanu you are finished just admit it nemi vanhu vacho why do you attend such kind of thing listening to this kind of ribbish from chimamasa
The reality is the bankers are not that innocent.
They impose Zimbabwe dollar era bank charges,contributing to the reluctance of people to bank their monies.
We all know that banks are not giving loans against the new title deeds and farm leases,hence the fall in lending.So as a rep of govt,Chinamasa genuinely sees this as banks goin against the system.
Title deeds and farm leases are high risk collateral. A bank may not get their investment back if the government decides to repossess a title deed, as they are allowed to do, because they don’t like what he’s growing, or who he sells to, or his political party. We’ve got Mugabe to blame for that fiasco. No one trusts the banks, because no one trusts the government.
Or it could be delusional thinking. The people who have the money simply do not bank in country. 10% of the population owns 80% of the wealth. As the norm all over the world most of the rich are connected to the ruling elite. The rich should start banking locally if we are to improve the banking system and avail funds for you Murimi to properly get viable loans for your agricultural ventures. If the 50% of the rich can bank locally it will have the same miraculous impact on our economy as did the dollarisation.
Parastatls also need to be sorted out as they keep gobbling millions if not billions (Muchechetere as an example) of the money that Murimi and manufactures were supposed to access for funding operations and capital investments. The money that ZBC has lost in the past 5 years:
CEO $50’000×60 months=$3million
5 Executives at a salary of $25’000x60months=$7.5million
3 managers each at a salary of $10’000x60months=$9million
Operations say $400’000x60months=$24million
Other salaries it was reported $1.6million for workers per month x 50 months =$80million
Total $120million
Revenue $275’000×60 months $16.5million
Result loss of $100million over the last 5 years.
If we have 20 parastatals with the same kind of mess then $2billion in the last 5 years. Yet we are falling over each other to get $700million to restart Ziscosteel.
Falling over each other to get Indians to restart our Ziscosteel for a mere $750million yet we are busy blowing that money to god knows where. With proper appointments of people with integrity and the ability and drive to deliver we have the resources in our own country to make the country work.
Fool!. Start with revising the indigenous and empowerment laws and stop threatening to nationalise the banks and every other ‘foreign’ owned business. Then hold a free and fair election and hand power to a leadership who are truly representative of the Zimbabwean people. The watch how quickly Zimbabwe will recover!.
Its sanctions against Zanupf by every one everywhere anyhow now! Banks are keeping the that the public puts. This is not for the convinience and enrichment of shameless looters, day light robbers a
Its not for the convinience of Mugabe’s loyalists who lie to him and then loot everything they see. Its the people who do not bank their hard earned cash. They know that Zanupf say that they are the fish and the people are the water. As long as there is water the fish does not die. As long as there are people in Zimbabwe Zanupf will survive by all means whether those people like it or not. Chinamasa shamelessly says the banks must get the money from the public for him. Its a waste of energy to give them or him any advice. He is the Minister and they are a ruling party. They have their foolish ill advised economic blue print. They should just go on. They made their bed so they must lie on it.
Yes! Good call DL! We are behind you 100%. And Murimi you are also right but accountability must always start with the head. Who is the head of Zimbabwe. Who governs this nation? And who has done that for 34 years? The fish rots from the head. When Chinamasa and those in his party begin to look at themselves first and begin to say, “I am the one, ” first then things will begin to happen. All I have ever seen ZPF do is blame others. They have never been big enough or honest enough to admit that they have stuffed up and tell the nation the truth and bring us all together to chart the way forward. The stench has drifted downwards until it has permeated the entire nation. No repentance! No restoration!
Wow. Yet another farcical economic forum to right the wrongs!!!!!! I know a 68 year old who slaved 50 years to get a nssa pension of 20 per month!!!!!!! And his bank loots 15 as bank charges.!!!!!!!! Go hang zpf and pseudo bankers like chanikira who cheat enrich themselves
I’d love to peruse kaukonde chiyangwa mliswa kasukuvere mandiwanzira etc bank accounts. That’s if they have any in mugabeland. Truth is the global underworld mafia rules zanupfland. Go hang muggersboy mugarbage
Kicks of a dying horse.. so that Treasury can reap the benefits through inflows into the fiscus,” he said. All they want is money in to loot. ZPF has completely run out ideas, the most thing they can do is throw in the towel, accept they have messed up and call for fresh, free and fair electios UN supervised, the winner will have legitimacy even China will respect. Besides that and with Arab Spring soon, Zimbabwe will collapse, your guess is just as good as mine what is going to happen!!
The world statistics show that 0.7% of the world’s adult, population control $98.7 trillion or about 41% of the world’s wealth.
In Zimbabwe for lack of statistical data the trend can be 10% of the population own 80% of the wealth (guesstimate). The target for banking deposits should not be focused on the informal sector but on the rich amongst us to bank their (ill gotten or legal gotten) wealth in our banking institutions.
This type of intervention will have the same magic impact that the dollarisation had on our economy. If the banks have money to loads of money belonging to a few people then they will be able to give long term loans to Murimi and the manufacturing sector to operate.
Presently there are Billions upon billions of dollars that are banked offshore by Zimbos. It is also very very safe to assume that close to 80% of those offshore depositors are connected to the ruling elite as it is the trend all over the world.
Once this problem is solved the banks will be in a much better state with large deposits.
Secondly the parastatals are bleeding the country dry. If all the parastatals heads are given 1 year to produce positive results or loose their benefits you will see all of them springing into profit. No one wants their school going kids to be transferred from Peterhouse to Tongogara high school. We all learnt this from basic economic psychology: Humans are inherently lazy and require motivation to work. What it simply means if a human can get reward without working on productive enterprise they shall keep doing it.
Honorable Minister-You do not need help from us poor people, get it from your party members.After losing all my savings I now keep all my little savings under my pillows.You started these informal traders, so you find ways of getting money from them. These informal traders were initially created to counteract the normal businesses owned by other races for political mileage, without long term foresight considerations.Economy requires sound political decisions not cheap ones to work properly.
Chinamasa and his zany party are the ones who have imposed sanctions on the Zimbabwean population. He thinks the money in the banks is for the banks to dish out to any hare brained zanupf projects where the money will disappear. The money does not belong to the banks but to the depositors. The latter were burnt by Gono and as they ” once bitten twice shy”. Why put money in the banks where zanupf can wake up tomorrow and nationalize it !!
The country does not need a miracle it needs good management. The miracle from God was its people and the resources it was given. Now the biggest miracle of all is that the people of the land cannot properly utilize the resources for quality of life they were destined to have. People in Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden (with no resources whatsoever) were our money is being banked really wonder how a country with so many resources fails to lift its people to a life that is better than their own.
I forgot Malaysia and Singapore.
@CHASURA-Correction-Norway has vast quantities of oil,Malaysia is the leading tin producer, Singapore has high technology, Switzerland has technology in various items watches and banking, Sweden has high technology in telecoms and cars and Belgium has high technology as well.All these things I have mentioned are resources like minerals.I have been to these countries to see for myself.
By systematically wiping out the middle class, Zanu PF has created this large ‘Informal Trading’ sector.
I would urge Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamas and the other incompetent idiots in Zanu PF, to leave their Ivory Towers and visit the small towns of Marondera, Kwe Kwe, and Chegutu to see the filth and total lack of amenities that the ‘Informal Trader’ has to endure, in order to survive.
The filthy crumbling pavements in these squalid towns are filled with people who are trying desperately to eke out a living, but at the same time, they are adding to the growing filth and diseases like Cholera (that are just lurking and waiting to break out again). These same ‘Informal Traders’ spend hours sitting in abject poverty, surrounded by snotty nosed children who should be in school, but are not, as their poor parents can’t even afford to put food on the table, never mind pay for basics like school fees and medicine.
And still these thieving bunches’ of a so called Government want the ‘Informal Trader’ to put his money in the bank. Wake up Mr Chinamas; given your poor track record; I would advise anyone with money, to keep it stacked under the mattress.