HARARE - ZIMBABWE’S central bank said on Friday its monetary policy committee (MPC) had been dissolved with effect from January 31, because a number of members’ other appointments were deemed in conflict with their work at the bank.
The MPC’s main function is to set the benchmark lending rate of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). It announced on Thursday that it had decided to raise that rate to 40 percent as the country battles runaway inflation and foreign currency shortages.
“RBZ wishes to advise that the MPC was dissolved with effect from January 31, 2021, as a result of appointment of most of its members to various entities and which appointments were deemed to be in conflict with the operations of the bank and the MPC,” the bank said.
It added that the minister of finance would appoint new MPC members soon. One MPC member, Kumbirai Katsande, was appointed chairperson of the board of insurer Old Mutual’s Zimbabwe unit at the end of January.
A second member, Douglas Munatsi, was appointed chief executive of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency last March.
REUTERS