Zimbabwe’s Central Bank governor Gideon Gono’s increasingly high political profile has given rise to widespread speculation that he could be gunning for the presidency, government insiders have revealed to the Mail & Guardian.
In a rare insight into the workings of President Robert Mugabe’s government, a senior state official and Zanu-PF party central committee member said there is a strong feeling within both the party and government that the Central Bank governor now has presidential ambitions.
”We feel if Mugabe trusted Mujuru [a vice-president] he should have been seen to be grooming her. He is neither showing it nor saying anything, instead he is full of praise for Gono at every forum,” says the official.
”He [Gono] exhibits features of someone harbouring political ambitions, he is looking beyond his term as Reserve Bank Governor,” says Eldred Masunungure of the University of Zimbabwe’s political science department.
However, Masunungure warned that even as Mugabe’s protégé he might not be up to the political manoeuvring within the ruling party. ”He is likely to be swallowed by the complexities of Zanu-PF politics should he throw his hat into the ring. He is still quite a novice in Zanu-PF politics,” says Masunungure.
Gono has been at the centre of the government’s attempts to turn the economy around and is known for his catchphrase ”failure is not an option” in fighting inflation.
According to the state official, Gono is dishing out money like confetti to individuals and parastatals, with huge loans having been offered to senior government officials under a productive sector facility fund. As Mugabe’s chief banker, Gono reportedly has Mugabe’s ear ”any time, any day”.
Of late, Gono has been challenging his critics, even those with ”liberation war credentials”. After the August 21 deadline to swap currency Gono travelled to the remote corners of Zimbabwe, counting and swapping cash with villagers and meeting chiefs.
The campaign for his latest initiative, to establish banks in rural areas, shows a picture of Gono clinging to a donkeyand chatting with the rural folk. ”He is busy marketing himself,” says a parliamentarian from Manicaland province.