20101207
Nation

Harare — Zimbabwe's central bank will lay off 1,600 workers at the end of this month as it battles with huge debts from projects it was forced to embark on to prop up President Robert Mugabe's previous government.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Dr Gideon said yesterday the retrenchments that will leave 74 per cent of the bank's workers without jobs were "painful but neccesary."

The bank owes undisclosed amounts of money to the Malawi Central Bank, Reserve Bank of South Africa and Equatorial Gunea as well as local corporates and governmental organisations.

The money was used to finance quasi fiscal activities, which Mr Mugabe's government says were meant to bust sanctions imposed on the country by the West.

"We are looking at retrenching 74 per cent of the central bank's staff and I would like to say it is not one of the easiest tasks as it is going to be one of the largest retrenchments in the history of the country by a single institution," Dr Gono told a parliamentary committee.