MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
ISSUANCE OF TREASURY BILLS AND BONDS
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (HON. CHINAMASA): Mr. Speaker Sir, I rise to make a Ministerial Statement on the Issuance of Treasury Bills and Bonds. Mr. Speaker Sir, my Ministerial Statement provides important information about the issuance of Treasury Bills and Bonds by the Government of Zimbabwe. A Treasury Bill is a short term debt obligation backed by the Government with a maturity of less than one year. Bonds, on the other hand, have a maturity of more than one year. I will use the acronym “TBs” to represent both Treasury Bills and Bonds.
Mr. Speaker Sir, my statement will cover the following critical areas: total issuance of TBs since 2014; TBs that matured and have been liquidated; outstanding TB maturities; and Government’s policy on effective management of domestic debt with a view to minimising the issuance of TBs. The Central Government issued TBs to raise money to fund its programmes as well as to address legacy issues that include servicing Government debt; the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) debt; Recapitalisation of Public Institutions; and takeover of collateralised Non-Performing Loans on the balance sheets of Commercial Banks by Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (ZAMCO).
Mr. Speaker Sir, I have appended supporting tables to my statement for the benefit of Hourable Members of Parliament and the general public and plead that they peruse these in the Hansard. Mr. Speaker Sir, Government remains fully cognisant of the need to effectively manage risk that is associated with over issuing of TBs in the market and the implication that it may cause.
Issuance of Treasury Bills
With respect to issuance Treasury Bills, the total value of Treasury Bills issued since 2014 stands at US$4.417 billion. A total of US$1.102 billion has since matured and been liquidated leaving an outstanding amount of US$3.315 billion as at 3rd March, 2017.
