/ 20 April 2007

Report: Gono no longer in charge of Zim exchange rate

Zimbabwe’s central bank chief , Gideon Gono, is no longer in charge of exchange-rate policy and will not devalue the sliding local currency when he makes a statement this month, it was reported on Friday.

Zimbabwe’s dollar has been on a vertiginous slide on the parallel market for foreign currency for months now.

The greenback was trading at about Z$16 000 per unit this week, although the official rate until now set by Reserve Bank Governor Gono remains at 250: 1.

Struggling local exporters had pinned their hopes on Gono devaluing or even floating the dollar when he makes an interim monetary policy statement later this month.

But Gono now says he is no longer dealing with foreign-exchange policy, reports the Zimbabwe Independent.

Responsibility for foreign-exchange policy has now been transferred back to the minister of finance, the paper said.

”We are no longer dealing with that [foreign exchange policy], we will only be there to implement the policy,” Gono told the paper. ”You must be aware the law says this is a responsibility of the minister of finance,” he added. — Sapa-dpa