Dr John Mushayavanhu (left), Image Credit FBC Holdings
Do you remember how excited we were when we heard that Mthuli Ncube was going to be Minister of Finance? I mean, how could we not, here was a non-politician coming in with a PhD in Mathematical Finance and having worked as Chief Economist and Vice President of the Africa Development Bank.
How did all that work out for us? All I can say is the economy is not where we thought it would be. I think Mthuli would agree with that.
Of course, you could argue he is not really in charge, kind of like how former RBZ Governor Gideon Gono says he took orders from the President. Or you could argue we would be in a much worse place if it weren’t for his austerity measures and aggressive tax regime.
However, even as you argue this way, you are forced to admit that the economy is in tatters. That’s the reality, isn’t it? President Mnangagwa went with non-politicians like Mthuli and Kirsty Coventry, which was good, but it really hasn’t worked out for them.
The worst thing about it is that the whole experience has made politicians of the non-politicians. Mthuli ran for a parliamentary seat and lost.
I mention all this to say, there is a new Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe taking over from John Mangudya at the end of April. Dr John Mushayavanhu comes in as a successful banker with loads of real world experience but this time around the excitement is a bit tampered for me.
John Mushayavanhu
Here is the summary of his profile as given by FBC Holdings,
MBA-(UK) Diploma In Management-(UK), AIBZ
A career banker, John has over 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, gained through senior positions in corporate and retail banking he held with a local multinational bank. He joined FBC Bank as an Executive Director in the Corporate Banking Division in October 1997. After the establishment of FBC Holdings in 2004 he was appointed Managing Director of FBC bank and Deputy Group Chief Executive. John was appointed Group Chief Executive of FBC Holdings in June 2011. He is past President of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe and he sits on the Boards of Turnall Holdings among others.
Mushayavanhu owns 7% of FBC Holdings. When we look at how he managed FBC, it provides more fodder to the idea that upper management should be owners too to be good stewards.
There is a lot we can argue about but what cannot be disputed is FBC’s trajectory under Mushayavanhu’s leadership. FBC came from relative obscurity to now having the 4th largest loan book in the country.
In terms of share price, FBC stood at around US$8 a share in early 2017 and that has fallen to Z$3200.7 (about US$0.23) in February 2024.
However, FBC has regularly ranked as a top listed company on the ZSE, first getting in the Top Five Listed Companies in the Zimbabwe Independent Quoted Companies Survey in 2018. You can dig deeper into FBC history here.
FBC also got a most lucrative client base when Standard Chartered announced they were leaving the country and they acquired 100% of it.
Mushayavanhu was in charge through all that.
Mnangagwa – ZANU links?
Apparently Mushayavanhu has been friends with President Mnangagwa for decades now. If not friends then business associates at the very least.
The Zuva Petroleum story is probably one Mushayavanhu is tired of hearing about. He acquired a controlling stake in Zuva through his investment firm and that should have been the end of it.
Analysts believe Mnangagwa was involved in that deal and has some shareholding in Zuva. It is believed Mushayavanhu’s investment firm was a front and the actual shareholders were some foreign Mnangagwa allies.
It is also believed that Ketani Joshi was involved in that deal too. This man was one of the founders of FBC and retains “substantial” interests in the organisation. So, I guess it is easy to understand if he and Mushayavanhu work together extensively.
Joshi’s family used to run Zanu-PF businesses and when they helped start FBC, it was all people needed to conclude that FBC was a Zanu organisation in the background. A sentiment that many share today.
FBC – DRC
It is difficult to not to conclude that FBC is a Zanu asset, especially when you take into account that FBC was the sole bank that handled the financial transactions related to Zimbabwe’s participation in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
All of the over 11,000 Zimbabwean troops deployed in the DRC were paid through this bank.
You could argue that this exclusive deal helped get FBC off the ground.
Friends rewarding friends?
The above is just the most known story that shows possible links between Mushayavanhu and Zanu and Mnangagwa. It’s not the only one.
The Africa Report plainly states “Mushayavanhu and Mnangagwa were business associates and worked together when Mnangagwa was ZANU-PF’s secretary for administration.”
And apparently, this working together extended to Zanu jobs, “Mnangagwa and Mushayavanhu also worked together in ZANU-PF’s business interests in Zimbabwe and during the Congo War of 1998 to 2000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Africa Report adds.
Looking at this, it feels like Mushayavanhu’s appointment as RBZ Governor is just a case of friends looking out for each other.
Tampered expectations
This all means I have low expectations as Mushayavanhu takes office. Not because he is not a capable banker, no, I believe that he is a very capable banker.
My low expectations have mostly to do with ensuring I don’t end up disappointed. Very capable people that have worked with the Zim govt have failed. I don’t see why this would be any different. I hope it will be but I’m not even crossing fingers.
Then if you’re really cynical you can talk about FBC succeeding under Mushayavanhu’s leadership only because they got lucrative Zanu deals they would not have gotten otherwise.
Whatever the case, I hope Mushayavanhu succeeds in his role as RBZ Governor for all our sakes. At this point we all have to root for him.
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