Zimbabwe Fact checking organisation, Zimfact, today said Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube lied when he said there was only US$40 million in the banks when Movement for Democratic Change vice-president Tendai Biti was finance minister during the inclusive government.
It said deposits in the banking sector grew from US$475 million in April 2009 to US$3.8 billion by the end of June 2013, a month before the elections that ended the tenure of the inclusive government.
Below is the full Zimfact analysis:
CLAIM: The banking sector had US$40 million deposits under the government of national unity.
Source: ZiFM Stereo interview
RATING: FALSE. Deposits in the banking sector, broadly defined, grew from US$475 million in April 2009 to nearly US$4 billion at the end of June 2013, when the unity government effectively ended.
In a clip of an interview with ZiFM Stereo, posted on Twitter on December 3, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube claimed that, under his predecessor Tendai Biti, deposits in the banking sector were around US$40 million.
“Right now in the banking sector, there’s US$1.1 billion, hard U.S dollars in the entire banking sector. During the government of national unity when he was minister, you know how much we had? US$40 million,” Ncube said.
What does the data say?
According to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe data, bank deposits rose from US$475.37 million at the end of April 2009 to US$3.8 billion at the end of June 2013, when the unity government effectively ended.
The latest available figures, for September 2020, from the RBZ show that there was US$1.12 billion held in foreign currency accounts at the end of that month.
CONCLUSION:
Ncube’s claim that banking sector deposits were US$40 million during the subsistence of the unity government between 2009 and 2013 is false.
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