HARARE – FBC Holdings CEO John Mushayavanhu, a business associate of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, will become governor of the central bank from May 1, 2024, the presidency announced on Friday.
Current governor John Mangudya, who is in his second and final term as head of the apex bank, will become CEO of the Mutapa Investment Fund, a statement by the chief secretary to the president and cabinet Martin Rushwaya said.
“These senior appointments have been made in line with the dictates of good corporate governance on succession planning for forward guidance of the market,” Rushwaya said.
Mushayavanhu has worked in the financial services for over four decades, including a stint at Standard Chartered Bank.
His appointment, however, will revive old accusations against Mnangagwa that he is hiring clansmen and his family in cushy government jobs as he enters his second and final term. He has already appointed his son and nephew as ministers, and critics say senior government posts have been parcelled out to clansmen from Midlands and Masvingo provinces.
Mushayavanhu, a majority shareholder in Zuva Petroleum, became Mnangagwa’s business partner when Zimbabwe sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999, according to Africa Confidential. A United Nations report in 2003 named Mnangagwa as one of the beneficiaries in the pilferage of at least US$5 billion of mineral assets from the DRC.
Some reports have also claimed Mnangagwa is related to Mushayavanhu, who according to other reports is a front for the Zanu PF leader.
