United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray recommended way back in January 2010 that the United States lift sanctions on three State-owned banks; the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe, Agribank and ZB Bank and Building Society following an appeal from Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Biti argued that the lifting of sanctions on the banks would support his economic reforms. Biti said the banks were owned by the government of Zimbabwe and were apolitical.
Sanctions on those banks prohibited them from transacting with US banks and they were therefore unable to undertake normal treasury operations.
After giving a detailed shareholding of each bank, Ray said the motivation behind Biti’s request was not to throw ZANU-PF a bone, but rather to see US government policies adjust to the new circumstances in Zimbabwe.
“I believe it is in our interest to honour Biti’s request. ZANU-PF no longer has the means to abuse these three banks. The only risk in removing them from the SDN list is that Mugabe may get the incorrect impression that we are loosening the screws on him and his cronies. But that will be their problem, not ours, and it would serve to weaken the impact of ZANU-PF’s continuing rhetoric regarding sanctions and their economic impact.
“There is, I sincerely believe, far greater risk for us in ignoring Biti’s request. Biti, his MDC colleagues, and other brave Zimbabweans are in a high-stakes, long-term struggle to restore democracy to their country. We should not miss opportunities to help them “chip away at the fascist dictatorship,” as Biti likes to put it.
“De-listing these three banks will, at no cost to us, let Biti push his reform agenda a few inches forward and further bolster his standing as the most effective minister in the transitional government.
“Ignoring his request, by contrast, will leave us with the untenable status quo of our current sanctions policy, which has so far had no effect on Mugabe’s actions. If we believe sanctions give us leverage, now is the time to use it to Biti’s advantage, and perhaps be an impetus at some point for further moves in a positive direction,” the ambassador said.
Sanctions on the IDBZ and Agribank were only lifted this month. Ray had already left the country and was replaced by Bruce Wharton.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 10HARARE9, RECOMMENDATION ON RESPONDING TO ZIMBABWE FINANCE
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Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO4065
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0009/01 0091042
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091042Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5287
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3241
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3352
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1775
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2609
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2979
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0040
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0042
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000009
SIPDIS
FROM THE AMBASSADOR FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON AND NSC
DIRECTOR GAVIN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2020
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION ON RESPONDING TO ZIMBABWE FINANCE
MINISTER BY DE-LISTING BANKS
REF: 09 HARARE 987
Classified By: Ambassador Charles A. Ray for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d).
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Finance Minister Tendai Biti sent me a letter
requesting that three banks be removed from Treasury’s
sanctions list. I recommend that we honor Biti’s request.
The information available to me indicates that these three
banks no longer have any role in supporting Mugabe. This
would cost us little while working to the advantage of
reformers who stick their necks out to bring democracy back
to Zimbabwe, and it would serve to undercut and weaken
ZANU-PF rhetoric regarding sanctions. If we believe that
sanctions give us leverage, now is the time to use it. END
SUMMARY.
¶2. (SBU) On January 4 I received a letter from Biti
requesting changes in the list of specially designated
nationals (SDNs) that are targets of USG financial
restrictions. The letter, dated December 29, names three
state-owned banks as candidates for de-listing: the
Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ), Agribank,
and ZB Bank and Building Society (ZB).
¶3. (SBU) Biti argues that de-listing these banks will support
his economic reforms. As SDNs these banks cannot conduct
transactions with U.S. banks and are therefore “unable to
undertake normal treasury operations. This has resulted in
the slow pace of some Government projects and programmes.”
The letter also notes that “these banking institutions are
owned by the Government of Zimbabwe and are apolitical as
reflected by their shareholding.” The GOZ owns 85 percent of
IDBZ, 100 percent of Agribank, and 26 percent of ZB.
¶4. (SBU) IDBZ has been in business since 2005, when the GOZ
established it for the purpose of financing construction of
roads, dams, utilities, and other infrastructure. The bank
has been largely inactive due to a lack of funding — the
hyperinflation wiped out its initial capitalization of 1
trillion Zimbabwe dollars. All members of the IDBZ board are
GOZ appointees. The current chief executive officer is
Charles Chikaura, a former deputy governor of the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) with no known political affiliation.
Chikaura left the RBZ when Gideon Gono became governor in
¶2003.
¶5. (SBU) Agribank’s main line of business is lending to
small-scale farmers, including those cultivating communal
land. In many rural areas, Agribank is the only source of
financial services. Shareholding in Agribank is split evenly
between the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture. Agribank
is led by a 10-member board of directors consisting of three
executive directors and seven non-executive directors. The
executive directors are either Ministry of Finance officials
or appointed by them. Two of the seven non-executive
directors are civil servants, one from each of the two
ministries. One non-executive director, Wilson Nyabonda, is
a member of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU).
Some members of the ZCFU have benefited from Mugabe’s land
reform program. Another non-executive director, Sij Biyam,
has publicly supported politicians who oppose Mugabe. The
other three non-executive directors are independent
professionals with no apparent political affiliations.
Qprofessionals with no apparent political affiliations.
¶6. (C) ZB’s largest shareholder is the National Social
Security Authority (NSSA), which holds 42 percent of the
bank’s equity. The Ministry of Finance controls 25 percent
of ZB shares, Old Mutual Life Assurance owns a 5 percent
stake, and the remaining shares are held by ZB employees and
the public. NSSA is a GOZ-sponsored pension fund supported
by contributions from the wages of private-sector employees.
NSSA’s board chairman is Albert Nau, a politically
unaffiliated business professional who previously chaired the
ZB board. The current chairman of ZB’s board is Bothwell
Nyajeka, an insurance executive known to be politically
independent. Nyajeka replaced Richard Hove, a ZANU-PF
politburo member who died last year. But even when Hove
chaired the ZB board, there was no evidence of political
interference in the bank’s operations. Post’s LES economic
HARARE 00000009 002 OF 002
specialist previously held management positions at ZB and
reports that the bank’s credit committee, of which he was a
member, has always made decisions exclusively based on
commercial considerations.
¶7. (C) As noted reftel, I presume that OFAC has classified
information to support designation of the three banks Biti
wants de-listed. I have received no response to my request
for such information. All of the information available to me
locally indicates that these banks are professionally managed
and commercially driven entities. Agribank and ZB have
provided candid responses to all of our requests for
information, including closely held lists of their most
important banking clients.
¶8. (C) Biti’s letter is an echo of my most recent
conversation with him (reftel). The motivation behind his
request is not to throw ZANU-PF a bone, but rather to see USG
policies adjust to the new circumstances in Zimbabwe. Biti
would like to see these three banks in a position to
contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery. Like all
commercial banks in Zimbabwe, Agribank and ZB sustained
severe financial losses during the hyperinflation. But now,
as the banking system recovers, these two banks’ status as
SDNs impedes recapitalization. Biti would like to sell a
portion of the GOZ’s stake in both banks, but this is not
practical while they are SDNs.
¶9. (C) I believe it is in our interest to honor Biti’s
request. ZANU-PF no longer has the means to abuse these
three banks. The only risk in removing them from the SDN
list is that Mugabe may get the incorrect impression that we
are loosening the screws on him and his cronies. But that
will be their problem, not ours, and it would serve to weaken
the impact of ZANU-PF’s continuing rhetoric regarding
sanctions and their economic impact.
¶10. (C) There is, I sincerely believe, far greater risk for
us in ignoring Biti’s request. Biti, his MDC colleagues, and
other brave Zimbabweans are in a high-stakes, long-term
struggle to restore democracy to their country. We should
not miss opportunities to help them “chip away at the fascist
dictatorship,” as Biti likes to put it. De-listing these
three banks will, at no cost to us, let Biti push his reform
agenda a few inches forward and further bolster his standing
as the most effective minister in the transitional
government. Ignoring his request, by contrast, will leave us
with the untenable status quo of our current sanctions
policy, which has so far had no effect on Mugabe’s actions.
If we believe sanctions give us leverage, now is the time to
use it to Biti’s advantage, and perhaps be an impetus at some
point for further moves in a positive direction.
RAY
(179 VIEWS)
