Harare — The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill, which seeks to bring the powers of the central bank governor under the control of a board, was yesterday tabled for the first time before the House of Assembly.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti presented the Bill before it was referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee for scrutiny on whether it was consistent with the provisions of the Constitution.

The Bill whose second reading is expected today -- also seeks to clarify the functions of the central bank and increase its monetary reserves.

Clause two of the Bill amends Section six, which provides that one of the central bank's function, is to further Government's economic policies.

"That is properly a function of the Government, not for a central bank, and this clause will repeal the paragraph," reads the preamble of the Bill.

The same clause takes away the bank's powers to represent Zimbabwe's interests at international meetings and Zimbabwe's membership at international meetings as this is now the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.

It can only represent Government interests when directed to do so by the ministry.

Clause eight amends Section 21 of the present Act to have a board with nine members in which the Secretary of Finance would be a member. However, the secretary will not have voting rights to enable complimentarities of the monetary and fiscal policies. Under the proposed legislation, the board will no longer determine monetary policy as this will be done by a monetary policy committee in accordance with regional and international best practices.