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Gideon Gono is the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and former CEO of the Jewel Bank, formerly known as the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe. Rapid expansion of the money supply on his watch has been blamed for contributing to Zimbabwe's hyperinflation.
For his part in this, Gono was awarded an Ig Nobel prize in 2009 for "giving people a simple, everyday way to cope with a wide range of numbers by having his bank print notes with denominations ranging from one cent to one hundred trillion dollars"
He started his career with government owned ZimBank, before moving to the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe. He was appointed by Professor Jonathan Moyo to head the University of Zimbabwe Council where he was awarded with an honorary degree. During this time, he was the personal banker of Robert Mugabe, up until he was appointed as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Gono was first appointed as Governor of the Reserve Bank in November 2003. In November 2008, Gono was reappointed to a new five year term as Governor, beginning on December 1, 2008.
Gono admitted that his efforts to rescue and improve the economy of Zimbabwe have failed. Gono said there were several factors that were outside the central bank's control, which made it difficult to rein in inflation. "Some of those factors are within the governor's control and influence while others such as politics, sanctions, droughts, under-utilisation of farms, disruptions at those farms, rampant corruption, indiscipline, law and order are factors outside the governor's control," he said in an interview with The Herald newspaper.
He has also blamed the failure of the economy on sanctions imposed on the country, a charge critics dispute.
Critics and civic leaders allege that Gono has kept his job as the governor mainly through Mugabe's patronage. Mugabe has not only shielded Gono from his critics, but has commended him in his activities as governor despite the extreme deterioration of the Zimbabwean economy. He had been Mugabe's banker for a long period before becoming governor of the RBZ.
Gono is banned from travelling to the United States and EU member states because of his role in the controversial Zanu-PF government of Zimbabwe.[31] He was added to the EU's list of individuals subject to personal sanctions—a ban on travel to the EU and the freezing of any assets there—in July 2008, following the controversial 2008 presidential election, in which Mugabe was re-elected amidst serious political violence.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Gono
Book : Zimbabwe's Casino Economy: Extra-ordinary Measures for Extra-ordinary Challenges
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