Monday, January 26, 2009

An extraordinary interview with the world's least-successful central banker


Actually, he is probably also the richest.

Gideon Gono runs the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Some extracts from Newsweek's unbelievable interview:

"I've been condemned by traditional economists who said that printing money is responsible for inflation... I found myself doing extraordinary things that aren't in the textbooks. Then the IMF asked the U.S. to please print money. I began to see the whole world now in a mode of practicing what they have been saying I should not. I decided that God had been on my side and had come to vindicate me."

"The cholera is under control. I've been personally involved in ensuring that we minimize and finally eliminate the disease."

"What keeps me bright and looking forward to every day is that it can't be any worse. And those who have studied the history of economies know that we are down, but that the only thing that can happen is we will move up."