The Observer - 23 February 2014 - 13
Obert Mpofu’s Allied Bank faces collapse
T
Nomalanga Moyo
he troubled Allied Bank is
reportedly on the verge of
collapse with its owner, Zanu PF
Transport Minister Obert Mpofu,
said to be failing to inject more cash to keep
it afloat.
The bank is one of seven institutions facing
insolvency and that have been under central
bank surveillance since November last year.
In December there were near-riots at
several branches as angry depositors protested
the unavailability of cash at the indigenouslyowned banks.
Another bank AFRASIA Zim, (formerly
Kingdom) which has been facing problems, is
said to be limiting cash withdrawals to $300
per day in a bid to manage the persistent cash
shortages.
Media reports last week said Allied bank
will be inviting investors to inject fresh capital
in exchange for shares and if that fails, “the
bank will downgrade its banking license to
deposit-taking micro finance.”
Ex-central bank governor Gideon Gono
handed Mpofu the bank after he reportedly
injected $23 million into the ailing institution,
formerly known as the Zimbabwe Allied
Banking Group.
Despite his vast riches as a Zanu PF
functionary Mpofu has failed to put more
money into the bank, amid reports that his
takeover deal was not based on cash but rather
on assets such as buildings, which the minister
has failed to transfer to the bank.
A combination of a shrinking economy, a
lack of investment, and Zanu PF’s destructive
economic policies is likely to see most of the
locally-owned banks shutting down for lack
of any cash injection.
Following Zanu PF’s disputed July 31 poll
win, the sector lost nearly a $1 billion almost
overnight, as jittery depositors took their
money elsewhere due to political uncertainty
and concerns about the new government’s
policies.■
Obert Mpofu
Mnangagwa Builds ‘State House’ Mansion
Z
Astute…part of Mnangagwa’s giant stately palace…
Dumisani Ndlovu, Zvishavane
imbabwe’s Justice, Legal
and
Parliamentary
Affairs
Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa
has allegedly completed building a
gigantic stately palace in Zvishavane
said to be greater than President
Robert Mugabe’s, ZimEye can
reveal.
The property is allegedly
protected in the same way as
President
Robert
Mugabe’s
residence in Harare is.
ZimEye
can
reveal
that
Mnangagwa has since triggered
anger in the local village community
as a result of that house after
villagers were continuously warned
not to dare tread their feet anywhere
near its vicinity in the same way
President Robert Mugabe’s state
house is protected from passing
pedestrians.
Mnangagwa who designated a
large hectarage around his rural
home, where he built the massive
multi-million do