Gideon the sanctions buster or inflation booster?

Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank governor Dr. Gideon Gono is definitely one of the controversial figures to emerge in the world of finance and politics.


A quick glance at his website www.gideongono.com reveals that the guv is a learned man of many achievements who was even wooed by the Bush administration to take up the post of Senior Vice- President of the World Bank.


Many of us will surely take that claim with a pinch of salt, though he also confesses that it made no sense to him either. He is after all, high on the "baddies list," compiled by the Americans.


Away from his website and state media reports, he is spoken of in less flattering terms. Here is a man made infamous by allegations of tinkering with unknown and unsound economic principles, over stepping the finance and other ministries to rechannel state funds and printing sky loads of money leading to "hyper-hyper" inflation.


Having been unilaterally re-appointed as Central Bank Guv last year in spite of the SADC brokered Global Politic Agreement that requires a joint Zanu-MDC appointment, the doc says he might step down if the West removes sanctions imposed on him and his peers. He said in a recent interview that he was appointed as a "sanctions buster" and therefore his tenure in office depends on whether the sanctions have been removed or not!


Rather comical some would say seeing as he has not over the years "busted" any of the so called sanctions and must now use his own seat as leverage. A far cry from the war tactics associated with the name Gideon would it not seem?


One would have expected that like his Biblical namesake, he has been blessed with a small but divinely strengthened army to take on and defeat the mighty Americans! His number two in command seems to be in the news as well for his own brand of "sanctions busting" involving a recent farm takeover. Now that's more like it!


As for the guv the title of "Inflation Booster," appears to steal the limelight from "Sanctions Buster!"