A meeting between principals of Zimbabwe's inclusive government to determine the fate of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has been scheduled for April 20, The Zimbabwe Times can report.
The crucial meeting was initially scheduled for Monday last week but was deferred following the death of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's grandson.
The meeting, planned at the Victoria Falls retreat last weekend, was also scheduled to iron out other outstanding issues such as the continued tenure of Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, appointments of permanent secretaries and 10 provincial governors and the swearing in of deputy minister of Agriculture designate, Roy Bennett.
President Robert Mugabe is said to have refused to swear in Bennett.
A source said the stand-off over attempts to strip Information Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa's powers would also be up for discussion.
But the three principals Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara called off the meeting to allow Tsvangirai to mourn his four-year-old grandson, Sean who drowned in a swimming pool at the family's home in Harare last week Saturday.
The Prime Minister attended the ministerial meeting in Victoria Falls at the time of the drowning, but left to be with his family.
He had only recently returned to work after mourning his wife's death.
According to the Prime Minister's spokesman James Maridadi, Tsvangirai and the President meet every Monday to discuss outstanding issues.
Last Monday had been set as a date that all outstanding issues were expected to be sorted out, especially the issue of Gono, who donors insist should go before money can start flowing in.
The meeting to decide Gono's fate is now scheduled to take place on April 20 because the next Monday (April 13) is a public holiday, Easter Monday.
Tsvangirai told the ministerial retreat in Victoria Falls last weekend that all outstanding issues that should have been resolved at the formation of the inclusive government would be dealt with this week.
"As defined by both the GPA and the Constitution of Zimbabwe, these issues must be resolved by the leadership of government, which comprises the President and Vice Presidents, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers," Tsvangirai said.
"This body will meet in the coming week to address the outstanding issues which include, but are not limited to, the swearing in of the provincial governors, the appointment of the governor of the Reserve Bank and the Attorney General, the appointment of permanent secretaries and ambassadors and the ongoing land disputes and disruption of agricultural activities."
The Prime Minister said there was need to resolve the issues immediately to "prove to the international community that we are genuine and serious about restoring Zimbabwe to its rightful place in the family of nations."
Gono's mandate as central bank chief was unilaterally renewed by Mugabe for a second five-year term in December 2008, sparking outrage in the MDC.
The MDC, which blames Gono for ruining the economy, insists the governor's re-appointment went against the spirit of the September 15 power-sharing agreement which sets out that all executive appointments must be made after consultation between Mugabe and the Prime Minister.
Calls for the governor's removal have escalated, with the latest coming from the G20 group of richest countries who are expected to bankroll Zimbabwe's reconstruction. The G20 issued a statement urging the new government to take steps to demonstrate its commitment to reform through "the establishment of a credible and transparent central bank team".
Last Monday South Africa's billionaire mining magnate Patrice Motsepe with a net worth of US$1, 3 billion told Mugabe that Gono must go before the businessman considered sinking money into Zimbabwe, according to a top level source who attended the meeting.
Motsepe reportedly told Mugabe that he was willing to assist Zimbabwe with cash but said: "We don't trust the leadership of custodians of our money."
Mugabe is said to have nodded.
Britain's Africa Minister Lord Malloch-Brown has also stated there would be no budgetary support to Zimbabwe as long as Gono remained at the helm of the central bank.
And on Wednesday, US ambassador James McGee told a reporters' roundtable at the US embassy in Harare that Washington did not want to tell Zimbabwe what to do with Gono but wanted to see a good and functioning central bank.
"We do want to see central bank reforms," McGee said. "The central bank here in Zimbabwe has been the core problem."
As pressure has mounted for Gono's removal, he has come out fighting, launching a counter offensive to charm all through his weekly newspaper, the Financial Gazette.
Through the paper, he sought to defuse tension over his alleged attempts to give second-hand cars to legislators in an apparent bid to curry favour with a legislature demanding his ouster.
Thursday's issue of the newspaper dedicated acres of front page editorial space on Thursday seeking to exonerate him and rubbishing claims that there was bad blood between him and Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Gono has announced that this week he is launching a new daily newspaper, the Daily Evening Gazette in an apparent bid to win hearts and minds amid shrill calls for his ouster.
On Wednesday, Biti and Gono addressed a joint press briefing denying reports that there was acrimony between them.
But informed top government sources said despite Wednesday's public display of solidarity, the push for Gono's ouster was gathering momentum. Thezimbabwetimes
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