By Rudo Saungweme  

Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (ZAMCO) Pvt Limited is a special purpose vehicle set up by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to resolve the high levels of Non-Performing Loans that bedevilled the banking sector following the introduction of the multi-currency trading system in February 2009, the RBZ Governor has said.

Speaking during a Public Account Legal Portfolio Committee Parliamentary meeting yesterday, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said ZAMCO had a role to ensure companies remain performing.

“ZAMCO was set in order to ensure that companies remain performing well. It was set to restore sanity in the market, to provide space for non-performing companies to resuscitate. Without ZAMCO companies could have closed, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would have lowered and exports will now be a thing of the past,” he said.

Responding to the Member of Parliament for Harare East constituency and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Tendai Biti on where Government got loan facilities for banks, Dr Mangudya said RBZ was provided funding by the Apex Bank various external financiers.

“RBZ did not take funding for ZAMCO from local deposits instead we got funds from the Apex Bank and its various external financiers,” said Mangudya.

Harare Post has learnt ZAMCO’s mandate is enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe and was birthed at law through an amendment of the Reserve Bank Act. The statutory mandate of ZAMCO as set out in Section 57A (1) (a) to (c) of the Reserve Bank Act.

Government borrowed US $2, 4 billion to fund several projects aimed at fund several projects aimed at reviving the economy. To date ZAMCO has assisted The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, RioZim, Star Africa, Cairns, Hwange Colliery Company of Zimbabwe and Cold Storage Company (CSC) among others.