Mangudya talks up Mutapa, fund to stabilise economy
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mangudya who is also the chief executive officer of Mutapa Investment Fund, believes the Fund can bring long-term economic stability to the country.
Mangudya, whose tenure at the central bank ends on April 30, 2024, in terms of Section 15(3) of the RBZ Act, was appointed the CEO of the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) by President Mnangagwa in early December last year, in terms of Section 8 (b) (1) of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act (Chapter 22:20).
MIF was established under the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act and is owned by the Republic of Zimbabwe, as set out in Section 2 of Section 3 of the Act.
Being a sovereign wealth fund, the Fund’s objectives are to make secure investments for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations of Zimbabweans, to support the development objectives of the government, including its long-term economic and social development, to support fiscal or macroeconomic stabilization, and to contribute to the revenues of Zimbabwe from net returns on its investments.
MIF owns shareholding in 20 state-owned enterprises, including the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), NetOne, and People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB), among others.
Mangudya has since started work at MIF and attended the National Oil Infrastructure Company (NOIC) AGM on Wednesday.
NOIC is one of the companies under MIF.
In an interview on the sidelines of the NOIC AGM, Mangudya said MIF’s mandate is to bring long-term stability to the Zimbabwean economy.
“Mutapa Investment Fund is a sovereign wealth fund of Zimbabwe. A sovereign wealth fund, internationally and locally, in terms of best practices, is a fund that provides long-term stabilisation of an economy.
“This is where you use resources that have been invested for long-term stabilisation of the economy.”
Mangudya said the mandate and vision of the Fund are to create companies that are commercially viable and create value.
“So it’s creating wealth for the nation; so we are talking about commercial viability; we are talking about value creation and wealth for current and future generations, said Mangudya.
He added that the Fund will create value and wealth, which should benefit the people of Zimbabwe.
“Otherwise, it’s a generational wealth-creating company. So it’s not only for today but also for tomorrow,” said Mangudya.
He gave example of Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund whose assets are more than US$1,4 trillion. Closer to home, Botswana also has a similar fund with billions of Pula under it, according to Mangudya.-ebusinessweekly
