A South African business tycoon, Mzi Khumalo, who is the chairperson of miner Metallon Corporation, has launched a lawsuit against the “corrupt” Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in a bid to recoup US$132 million.
In an interview with South African publication, The Star, Khumalo said that the RBZ is driven by corruption and a sense of impunity. He said:
We have started legal proceedings against the RBZ, particularly the governor, John Mangudya, demanding specific performance (action).
We are doing this because we feel the treatment we have received from the concerned authorities has been driven by corruption and a sense of impunity, for which we believe there is no end in sight.
… The people who suffer most are Metallon employees who no longer have jobs.
First, they were victims of hyperinflation under the (country’s) previous regime.
And now they have lost their livelihoods. We had no other recourse but to take decisive action.
Metallon is demanding US$132 million from the Governor of the RBZ and the Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR), including full payment of amounts owed from as far back as 2016.
An RBZ official from the public relations and secretariat division, Khumbulani Shirichena, demanded questions in writing from the South African publication and promised to respond by Sunday, which he failed to do.