All set for date with RBZ boss

ALL is set for tomorrow morning’s eagerly anticipated meeting in Harare between the new governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), John Mushayavanhu, and key stakeholders who include business leaders, analysts, academics and top diplomats.

The special gathering — which will provide more insights into the RBZ’s generally well-received monetary policy statement (MPS) of last week — is being hosted by the country’s first independent national commercial television station, 3Ktv. Besides Mushayavanhu, who will be the meeting’s guest of honour, other notable local economic experts will also attend the event and have the opportunity to share their views on the MPS, as well as the country’s overall economic outlook.

Zweli Sibanda, the Managing Director of Jester Media Services’ Broadcasting Division, told the Daily News yesterday that public interest in the event had been very high.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, John Mushayavanhu

“It’s very good to see that Zimbabweans care deeply about their country and its economy. The response from key stakeholders to the meeting has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. “While we always understood that many people would want to attend this very important gathering, we initially under-estimated the demand for seats and have now had to procure a bigger venue to ensure that as many people who want to attend the meeting are able to do so.

“We are very proud to be part of this event as 3Ktv and the Jester Media Services group, as our own small contribution to key national debates, as well as the welfare and development of our country and its economy,” Sibanda said.

This comes after the RBZ introduced the country’s new structured currency on Friday last week, as authorities bid to end sustainably the exchange rate and prices crisis of the past few months. The currency will be launched at an introductory rate of 13,56 to one American dollar, and will be backed by a basket of reserves that include gold, other precious metals and foreign currency.

3Ktv is a sister venture to Zimbabwe’s number one business publication, The Financial Gazette, as well as the influential Daily News and the Daily News On Sunday.

The fast-growing station went live on the 28th of February 2022, becoming the first licensed free-to-air private station to operate in the country since television was first introduced in the then Southern Rhodesia in November 1960. The history-making station had been licensed in November 2020, having come tops following a public and keenly-fought bidding and hearing process.