The Zimbabwean Government issued Treasury Bills (TBs) to the tune of $1 billion that went towards the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (ZAMCO).
ZAMCO was set up by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in 2015 as a special purpose vehicle meant to buy non-performing loans.
And latest indication from the RBZ governor is that central government issued TBs to the tune of $1 billion.
“Long-term TBs were a bridging finance used to resuscitate companies,” said Dr John Mangudya, “TBs issued for ZAMCO were $1 billion.”
TBs are basically short-term negotiable instruments issued by Government through the RBZ to finance the State’s short-term requirements, and are issued for periods ranging from 30 to 365 days.
Treasury has however put a stop to the issuances of TBs into the market as they have led to increase in the money supply and have driven inflationary pressures.
But the RBZ governor has insisted that ZAMCO has been successful in reviving a number of struggling firms including Cairns Holdings, the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, RioZim, Star Africa, Border Timbers and the Cold Storage Company and Hwange Colliery Company.
Official figures show that NPLs acquired by ZAMCO as at the end of last year amounted to $1,13 billion, and the entity has to date recovered $260 million worth of NPLs.
ZAMCO chief executive Dr Cosmas Kanhai says the body is targeting to complete re-payments by the end of its term in six years’ time.
“We hope that by 2025 we would have resolved all the acquired NPLs,” said Dr Kanhai