Gono’s “Merc” raises moral and ethical questions

By Violet Gonda
22 January 2007

Despite the fact that The Standard Newspaper has retracted its story on Gideon Gono’s Mercedes, the story refuses to go away. Critics say what is at the heart of it are moral and ethical issues, not just financial ones.
The Standard’s acting editor Bill Saidi told SW Radio Africa last Wednesday that the paper stood by it’s story and “We have reliable people who have seen the car,” but the paper made a dramatic u-turn at the weekend, and retracted its story after being invited to the Reserve Bank to view Gono’s car.
The private paper said in its Sunday edition that Gono told them he acquired a Mercedes Benz S600 V12 last year and not a Brabus E V12 Biturbo as the newspaper had reported. “The governor said the Mercedes Benz S600 V12 was bought for him by the RBZ at a cost of US$138 000 and he paid an additional Z$23,2 million to cover costs related to customs duty and other charges.”
The governor had threatened legal action against the Standard, the journalist who wrote the story and the UK based The Zimbabwean Newspaper, saying the story was false.
In its Sunday edition The Standard agreed and wrote: “This was not true and we apologise sincerely and unreservedly for the embarrassment caused by this publication.”
It’s not clear what action if any the governor will take now and it was not possible to get a comment from him Monday.
But critics say, the acquisition of a US$138 000 car is still unacceptable in a country where teachers are deserting, doctors are on strike over living and work standards and hundreds of thousands are starving. Some have asked how one person can have so much foreign currency to spend on a luxury car. Businessman Mutumwa Mawere said this is shocking behaviour of public officials in a country that is in a crisis.
Mawere said; “Because he is a special Zimbabwean, he is a special governor he then cuts a deal with the board – that he chairs – whereby the board approves to make the car not a bank asset but an asset of the governor.”
He added; “And then people complain about sanctions. Although he can’t travel to Germany, it appears Germany can travel to him. He is actually enjoying German luxury in Zimbabwe where the Germans can actually export the product.”
The businessman said there is also a need to analyse the figures that are being publicised by the governor to see that combined they come up to more than US$300 000. Mawere said; “If you convert the Z$23 million that he (Gono) says he topped up at the official rate, you actually get US$200 000. When you add the US$200 000 and the US$138 000, you get US$338 000. So I am not sure where the dispute would arise, unless he converted at the black market rate – which again would be illegal for the governor.”
It was not possible to find out from the governor what the top-up rate was at the time he bought the car, to get the total cost.