RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has buried the hatchet with prophets Emmanuel Makandiwa and Uebert Angel following a public spat over the so-called miracle money.
Report by Bernard Mpofu
Addressing a Press conference attended by the United Family Inter-Denominational and Spirit Embassy founders, the central bank chief said he had cleared the air with the prophets following reports that Angel had credited bank accounts of his followers with money without paper trail.
Gono had warned Angel against interfering with the financial services sector advising him to go into farming if he wanted to empower his followers.
But the governor appeared to have made a U-turn saying the miracles would not affect broad money supply and ease the liquidity constraints besetting the domestic market.
“I am happy to say there is no contradiction in terms of what they have been doing and the laws that we have observed, which we must continue to observe,” Gono said.
“Principally, we are concerned about the creation of conditions whereupon there could be misunderstandings or violations of the local or regional or international anti-money laundering laws as well as prevention of financing terrorism.
“There is no animosity at all between us, there are no fights at all, but where there is no dialogue it becomes a fertile ground for misunderstanding.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“There was no growth in broad money supply that is going to come as a result of the blessed men’s activities so we should not expect the liquidity situation of the country to be changed because they visited the central bank.”
Speaking to journalists at the same event Angel, who at the start of the year reportedly performed the money miracles, said his church would not stop performing miracles.
He said the miracles were not in violation of the country’s laws, but restored his followers’ “funds” that were lost.
“We serve a God where we don’t need to perform the chemical composition of a miracle,” Angel said.
“God does what he wants, when he wants it and he is king, but at the end of the day he has laws of this earth he has highlighted to us and they are not foreign to me.
“I have got degrees in finance so they (financial laws) are not foreign to me.
“But at the end of the day I serve a God who doesn’t regard a degree. “The governor said I need to go and look for a farm . . . I think there are some people who misinformed him.
“I have farms not a farm, but I appreciate him accepting us to see him so that we can understand each other because where there is no communication, there is always a problem.
“We will continue doing God’s work and Jesus will continue to be Lord. “I am happy that he (Gono) has seen that we are not contradicting the laws of the land and that was very important for us.” Makandiwa said although it was a mission impossible to engage other men of cloth on the way they operated, he was ready to have his miracles tested.
“We thank God that we have had a fruitful conversation and we have made ourselves clear on how we operate and as the governor has said there are laws that are there and we are determined to observe them,” he said.
“Looking at how God operates we have not been successful in putting Him in a box and teach Him to behave.
“What we encourage people is to invite us and allow us to do what we are capable of doing and demonstrate how the name of Jesus can perform wonders and miracles more than just explaining because we are now in the world of intellectuals.
“People know how to defend their beliefs, but we have grown past that level. “Most of these things people think are rehearsed, we are open, let’s meet as men of God. Let us sit down, let us see whether these things are real.”
Makandiwa and Angel command a huge following because of their gospel of prosperity.
