Students tackle president over new reserve bank governor

Two Zimbabwean student leaders have given President Emmerson Mnangagwa a five-day ultimatum to reverse the alleged unlawful appointment of the new governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) – or face legal action.

According to the students, Nesbert Munyuki and Valentine Ziko, Zimbabwe’s struggling economy and its currency instability are making it difficult for parents to pay for their children’s tuition and for students to purchase textbooks, study materials and other resources necessary for their education. The person occupying the governor seat, therefore, is relevant to students, they told University World News.

In a country where student activists frequently end up in jail, the two gave Mnangagwa the deadline through a letter dispatched by their lawyers, Kossam Ncube and Partners. Mnangagwa has until Thursday, 11 April, to respond.

Munyuki, a student at the Harare Institute of Technology, is also the provincial secretary general of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu), while Ziko is a student at the Harare Polytechnic where he is the Zinasu chapter chairperson.

On 27 March, Mnangagwa appointed Dr John Mushayavanhu as the new RBZ governor and, on 5 April, the presidential appointee introduced a new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, in a bid to beat hyperinflation. The RBZ is also referred to as the central bank.

In the past two decades, economic mismanagement and poor governance, which have continued under Mnangagwa, have resulted in bouts of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe, with the rate, on occasion, rising to be the world’s highest.

Letter to the president

In their letter to the president, Munyuki and Ziko said section 16 of the RBZ Act disqualifies shareholders of any local banking institution from appointment as governor of the apex bank, yet Mushayavanhu is a shareholder of FBC Holdings Limited, which wholly owns FBC Bank.

They said the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange issued a public notice advising the public of his acquisition of shares in FBC Holdings through his company called Tirent Investments.

The two student leaders demanded that Mnangagwa reverse Mushayavanhu’s appointment within five days or they would institute legal proceedings.

“Resultantly, given the foregoing, this, therefore, means that your appointment of Dr Mushayavanhu as RBZ governor is a nullity as it flies in the face of a clear statutory prohibition. It is evidently invalid and a non-event,” they wrote.

“We further draw your attention to the provisions of section 90 (1) of the Constitution which mandates you to ensure that all laws of the land are faithfully observed. This applies to you as well, Your Excellency, and you were obliged to ensure that provisions of the RBZ Act, particularly section 16, were faithfully observed in your appointment of the governor.”

Munyuki told University World News the government’s failure to come up with a stable currency was causing problems for students, hence the appointment of monetary authorities must be done within the confines of the law.

Tough choices

He said, in addition to students’ inability to purchase educational materials, students are also facing reduced opportunities for international study and are having challenges participating in exchange programmes because of the economic situation.

“There are high rates of dropouts and deferring. Considering that most of our parents are self-employed, they were trading in local currency but, as it stands, people are already rejecting bond notes. So, what’s next on my path … either deferring or dropping out,” he said.

Munyuki said the unstable currency has also resulted in poor service delivery in tertiary institutions as most companies are rejecting the local currency or are using higher rates than official rates, making service delivery poor.

“There are high rates of drug abuse and sexual abuse in tertiary institutions. Our parents are earning this unstable currency. They cannot afford to cater for all our needs, so some end up being involved in drug abuse. Some female students cannot afford to cater for their needs. They end up being sexually abused by lecturers so that they can make ends meet,” he added.

“There is also the potential of high unemployement rates. It’s difficult for both local and foreign investors to invest in our country when inflation is at its peak, when we are changing currency like shoes. It simply means there will be [only a] few companies to employ us after graduation.”

‘Concerned, but not worried’

Asked if he was not afraid to take the president to court in a country in which the state persecutes student leaders, Munyuki said in terms of his safety, he is “concerned, but not worried”.

“In Zimbabwe, we are in a country where, if you speak against injustices, you die, and if you remain silent, you die of poverty, hunger and starvation. So it’s better to speak and die after speaking the truth. According to [Nobel Prize winner and South African Anglican archbishop emeritus and theologian] Desmond Tutu, ‘If you remain silent in cases of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor’,” said Munyuki.

In a separate interview, Ziko told University World News that his action was motivated by the realisation that people appointed in violation of the law are unlikely to implement policies that are favourable to general citizens.

He said the government was failing to come up with long-term plans for a stable currency. “Monetary value can only be backed by a functional economy, which has productive industries,” Ziko stated.