The American Repossessor

Boaz police arrest two on meth charges

Susan Marston — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:46:03 +0000

The Boaz Police Department, with the assistance of the Marshall County Drug Enforcement Unit, arrested a man and woman from Boaz for manufacturing methamphetamine and on other drug charges, Boaz Police Chief Terry Davis said.

Lauren Leigh Bright, 25, and Casey Lee Sims, 31, were charged Saturday with manufacturing methamphetamine, unlawful possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers received a domestic violence call and a report of a repossession of a vehicle to the residence. Upon arrival, officers discovered evidence leading to the manufacturing of methamphetamine charges. A 5-year-old also was present.

A search warrant was obtained for the residence, and materials used to cook methamphetamine were recovered, as were marijuana and other items.

During the search, Sgt. Toney Frasier was overcome by fumes coming from the meth lab. Frasier was transported to Marshall Medical Center South for treatment. He was treated and released, but was taken out of work by a doctor to recover from inhalation of the fumes.

Bright and Sims are being held without bond.

By Lisa Rogers
Times Staff Writer

China’s Auto Industry Embraces Green

Susan Marston — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:36:51 +0000

Just the Facts:

World Expo 2010 in Shanghai showcases cars of the future.
A variety of green cars are among those on display.
GM and its Chinese partner SAIC share a pavilion that’s open to the public.

SHANGHAI, China — At the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, the joint pavilion of General Motors and its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) is proving to be one of the most popular.

Every day, visitors from all over the world stand in line for up to three hours to get into the auto pavilion. They are anxious to see the cars of the future and how they will change the way people drive.

For businesses, the pavilion offers a sneak preview of future opportunities evolving in the fields of zero emissions and traffic control.

General Motors exhibited three EN-V concept cars. The two-wheeled, vacuum-cleaner-shaped model runs only on electricity generated by lithium-ion batteries and is also equipped with advanced features such as a global positioning system, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and distance-sensing technologies.

The SAIC concept YeZ, previewed earlier this year as the Leaf, showcased a vehicle that can absorb carbon dioxide and water molecules in the air and, like a leaf, convert them into power through a series of chemical reactions.

The auto pavilion underscores the world’s pursuit of low-carbon technologies aimed at addressing the problems of urban pollution and energy shortages. Big cities such as Shanghai, with fast-expanding vehicle numbers, are facing increased pressure to develop fuel-saving, emission-free alternatives.

Shanghai is seizing on the sea change to help restructure its industrial base and become a world leader in advanced new technologies. Its blueprint for change targets nine industries, including new industrial materials, alternative-energy vehicles, information technologies and biological pharmaceuticals.

Shanghai was among the first five cities nationwide to offer national subsidies for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles. People who buy cars that save 20 percent on fuel consumption are eligible to receive $441. According to a draft policy for promoting green vehicles in Shanghai, the city is planning to offer an extra $2,900 to those who buy a plug-in hybrid and $7,340 to those buying electric cars, Liu Jianhua, head of the city’s new-energy promotion office, said recently. Companies developing new technologies are also expected to enjoy favorable tax breaks and low-interest loans.

Liu said the measures are part of the Shanghai government’s efforts to encourage production of 100,000 green vehicles per year by 2012, of which 60,000 units will be passenger cars and 20,000 will be EVs. The city also targets having 25,000 charging stations and nearly 50 charging stations.

SAIC Motor Corp, the nation’s biggest automaker, will bring out a semi-hybrid version of its Roewe 750 sedan this year. By 2012, the Roewe 550 plug-in full hybrid, using 50 percent less gasoline, will be introduced, followed by a fully electric car. Within five years, SAIC plans to increase its market share in the green car segment to 20 percent, the same proportion it now enjoys in the gasoline-powered market, said Hu Maoyuan, chairman of SAIC.

The carmaker has provided nearly 1,000 green vehicles to the World Expo, including hybrids, electric vehicles, fuel-cell cars and vehicles powered by supercapacitors.

Early this year, the carmaker set up a new subsidiary for developing fuel-efficient, lower-emission vehicles. A group of 200 engineers is working on core spare parts for both electric and hybrid vehicles. The development of greener commercial vehicles is also underway.

Shanghai GM, which has already introduced the Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid and Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, said additional hybrids and EVs will be rolled out over the next five years, with the Chevrolet New Sail electric vehicle prototype set to make its debut this year. In 2011, the new Buick LaCrosse Hybrid, with 20 percent better fuel economy than the standard model, will be available.

General Motors will export the Chevrolet Volt to China, making the country among the first recipients of the vehicles outside the U.S. GM also announced this month that it will team up with SAIC to jointly develop other fuel-efficient technologies, including small-displacement gasoline engines and new front-wheel-drive transmissions.

Shanghai Volkswagen has introduced turbo technologies and double-clutch gearboxes in domestic production, which could help reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions significantly, and said it will invest in research of new-energy vehicles to meet rising market demand.

A spokesman from China’s new-energy promotion department confirmed that no pure electric cars or plug-in hybrids have been sold since the national subsidy took effect in June. “Sales of the cars subject to the highest subsidies have not started yet,” he said.

BYD’s F3DM plug-in hybrid is now sold only within its home market in Shenzhen. Company officials said marketing in Shanghai is expected to begin next month. Delivery waiting periods may be as long as four months.

A survey of 606 auto buyers in Shanghai found that 75 percent of respondents said they intend to buy a green car within three years, according to a report from research firm Ipsos.

In another poll of 1,478 vehicle owners and potential buyers nationwide, the same proportion expressed buying interest. They cited low operational costs and environmental benefits as their reasons, according to Nielsen.

Inside Line says: As the concept of new-energy vehicles is beginning to sweep across the globe, Chinese consumers are showing more interest in the new technologies than their counterparts in many other countries. — Vivian Jin, Correspondent

FROM THE EDITOR

Susan Marston — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:28:24 +0000

We are forever moving – I mean who has time to stand still?

We have had a huge amount of positive feedback on the new www.theamericanrepossessor.com, so we know we are heading in the right direction.

There have been numerous enquiries from individuals that are interested in joining our industry – some that are within it already eg., as Field Agents that want to start their own companies and others from people that have no firsthand knowledge of the industry, but still want to enter it. There will always be people interested in having their own repossession/recovery company and I know that the information www.theamericanrepossessor.com provides helps to guide them to look at many areas of research that is needed BEFORE they contemplate their investment of both time and money.

Again, we have a lot more information for you. Joe Miller from AutoIMS has provided us with a firsthand insight into what the Financial Institutions expect from their suppliers of repossession/recovery services. Ally Bank talks about their expectations as one of the major clients within our industry sector. Take note, as one of their key issues is communication be it updates, reporting repossessions etc.

That leads me nicely into the ‘trilogy’ – three key areas of business – MANAGEMENT, CONTROL AND COMMUNICAITON – that are interlinked and can make the difference between a company being successful or not.

COMMUNICATION is the last part of this triangle that I have covered. In today’s world of technology, COMMUNICATION comes in various formats and has changed the way we communicate completely. The following quotation is one that we all need to consider:

“The single biggest problem in communication is that illusion that it has taken place”. George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) Irish Playwright and Co-Founder of the London School of Economics

MARKETING is also a crucial communication tool to inform target markets about the services

your companies provide and I am pleased to announce that www.theamericanrepossessor.com (via ConnecTGo, Inc. has collaborated with Design Legion, to promote and provide Design and Marketing Services that are specifically geared to the Repossession/Recovery Industry and their target client base – FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS/LENDERS. Read the article for more information.

There is an abundance of information from many areas of our industry – so no point in ‘re-inventing’ the wheel, when there are those out there that we can learn from.

Watch this space as there is more to come.

Susan Marston

Design and Marketing for the Repossession Industry

Susan Marston — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:25:12 +0000

One of the most fundamental business functions of any company is MARKETING. There is not much point in being in business if you do not do this – you only get one change at a first impression, so do it right!

Included in the development and growth of companies is a good Marketing Plan and as an extension to our services, to continue to aid and develop its clients in their endeavor to develop and grow their companies, www.theamericanrepossessor.com/ConnecTGo, Inc. has collaborated with Lewis Mann, President of Design Legion and his team to provide the following services:

Creating your own Branding – Identity Package

Logo
Business Card
Letterhead
Brochure
Website
Maintenance and updates (Webmaster services)
Domain name and web-hosting

Our goal is for a client company’s visual identity along with the web interface, is to reinforce the following approach/philosophy to the business model:

Maximize outreach to the target audience to increase business efficiency
Increase revenue
Convey professionalism, trust, confidence and quality of service/products through visual identity. Identities and interfaces with these qualities will create the illusion of a larger company; reducing risk factor and therefore decrease attrition
Provide a general feel about the company, differentiation, core values and visual strategy

For more information, please contact salmarston@theamericanrepossessor.com.

COMMUNICATION – Are you being heard?

Susan Marston — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:21:49 +0000

“Say what you mean, and mean what you say”. George S Patton (1885 – 1945) General in United States Army

“If there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the ability to put yourself in the other person’s place and to see things from his point of view – as well as your own”. Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) Founder of Ford Motor Company

This is the 3rd and last of the MANAGEMENT, CONTROL and COMMUNICATION trilogy that lend to being the key factors of running a successful company. If you have them in place, and you utilize them to the utmost, you have a winning combination.

COMMUNICATION, is a word I hear a lot from those that say they manage their companies, yet they are the poorest communicators of all. Leading by example, sets the tone for the company, and so, if management and company owners do not communicate well, almost certainly, their employees will not either.

In today’s world of technology, we are blessed with e-mail, telephone, fax, texting, the internet etc., – all modes of communication that have virtually surpassed good old fashioned letter writing and in-person meetings.

“Electric communication will never substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true”. Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) English Novelist

Good employee communication is essential to the success of your company. You need your people to know what is expected of them and the basic communication process will help you to maximize on your potential. You need to be honest and respect employees and develop trust between you all. If you want them to listen to you and do what you expect them to do, you too have to improve your communication skills.

Good communication starts at the top – with the company owner. For employees to understand what you do and why you do it, you need to inform them of the challenges of your business and the risk you take because of it.

Having an open line of communication, means that you need to meet with your employees on a regular basis. Weekly meetings should be in place between you and your managers, your managers and their staff, and then company meetings as a whole – so everyone communicates with everyone else and everyone knows what is happening.

Are you being heard?

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen”. Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) British Prime Minister

You have to be sure that you too have the abilities to communicate. You need to make certain that the message you want to relay to your employees is simply and cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Be sure that you recognize good work from your employees and let them know by thanking them personally and/or use their example of good work to other employees.

When meeting your employees, be sure that you are prepared and that what you plan to say is relevant to the audience you intend to communicate with. Take heed of body language as that can often undermine the spoken word.

Business communication involves an ongoing exchange of information. It’s a continuous process. As your company grows, the more you need to find more effective ways to communicate, both with your employees and your clients.

Good communication should be able to influence and persuade those that are on the receiving end of it. It needs to be courteous and polite and get the message across.

Remember, that successful communication is a two-way process. You need to listen to your employees, as so often they have the best suggestions for improving what they do, and indeed what your company does too.

“The key to success is to get into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It’s terribly important for everyone to get involved. Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys”. Sam Walton (1918 – 1992) American Businessman and Entrepreneur

Enable your employees to feel comfortable in providing you with feedback, be it positive or negative and let them know that if it is negative, that they will not be penalized for doing this. Be serious about their contribution and let them know that they can communicate with you at any time – i.e. an ‘open door’ policy.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968) American Clergyman, Activist and Prominent Leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement

Be assured that your managers are on the ‘same page’ as you, and that your employees see this otherwise, they will not gain their contributions.

Do you communicate more in person or in the written format with your employees? The written word is fine but there are exceptions to this. Normally anything that requires the development of a work relationship, a face-to-face meeting is preferable.

When dealing with HR issues, particularly disciplinary measures, these definitely need to be person to person meetings and you can always follow them up with written confirmation.

Remember, although it may be faster to communicate by the pen and/or keyboard, the words lack personality and can often be misconstrued. Nothing should replace of in-person meetings.

“The single biggest problem in communication is that illusion that it has taken place”. George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) Irish Playwright and Co-Founder of the London School of Economics

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind”. Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) British Author and Poet

Renew Your Lender Perspective

Susan Marston — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:19:31 +0000

The importance of the repossession industry to our economy is something that is often overlooked or misunderstood. Lenders of all types and sizes rely on hundreds of repossession agencies around the country as a crucial form of recourse when loans default.

As repossessions soared over the last 2 years, new processes and technologies gave lenders and agencies more opportunity to consider the nuances of their relationships. Facilitating these relationships, AutoIMS believes that success often hinges on thorough expectation setting between the two parties. Yet so often, these expectations go unspoken, or only arise after problems occur. To that end, we asked a few of our lenders what they value most from their repossession partners.

Why the Good Ones are Good

Any repossession agency knows lender requirements vary in complexity and detail. Still, there are a number of high level attributes that lenders consistently refer to when they speak of their best agencies. Patricia Holmes, Vendor Relations Manager for Ally Financial, points to several traits that you would expect from any business partner, including, “Complete honesty about the transaction (assignment) – and even about unforeseen excess charges that may occur. Also, taking ownership of and resolving issues that may arise in the repo process.”

Lenders consistently mention specific attributes of their best agencies, including their willingness to:

Provide timely updates through a repo management system
Quickly acknowledge receipt of all lender communications, especially key updates like a location change, or if the unit is placed on hold or cancelled/redeemed
Report repossessions immediately in order to trigger compliance and the next steps in remarketing
Treat the vehicle as if it were their property – damages during the repo process can cause major issues for lenders
Protect themselves by taking ample pictures and providing a thorough condition report
Remove all trash from the unit; document and safely store personal property

How Not to Fall Short

Lenders have a number of traits they value in their best agencies, but they are also quick to point out how the less-preferred agencies fall short. Some of the most consistently cited negative characteristics include:

Generic updates (e.g. “Drove by residence, no sign of vehicle”), which are often meaningless to the lender, thus wasting time for both parties
No keys recovered or provided, or no key status provided
Overcharges or incorrect charges on an invoice
Frequent customer complaints, or reports of mistreatment of debtors

As with the positive attributes, many of the biggest lender pet peeves may often go unspoken, leaving agencies wondering why they haven’t received another assignment from a particular client. For agencies who want to make it to the “preferred vendor list”, it never hurts to remember The Golden Rule, and even to ask clients about what they value beyond the standard requisites to do business. Ally Financial’s Holmes sums it up nicely, “Actions of every employee reflect upon the agency as a whole. Be honest, thorough, polite and helpful.”

The Two-Way Road to Recovery

For all the benefits of having repossession in a lender’s toolkit, administrating repossession is often an incredibly labor- and process-intensive job. For larger lenders especially, the burden of managing thousands of debtor accounts and hundreds of repossession agencies, while complying with state and federal laws for which the lender is ultimately accountable, can be incredibly expensive and inefficient.

In an industry where success is tied directly to the speed with which a vehicle can be legally recovered and remarketed, lenders are constantly searching for repossession partners that can meet their needs and adhere to rigid expectations. Lenders and repossession agencies alike should make note of as many of each others’ expectations as possible – even the softer ones – in order to ensure a successful, long-term relationship.

Joe Miller is the Director of Customer Service for AutoIMS.com, a leading provider of inventory management applications for the vehicle repossession and remarketing industries.

OPENLANE Selects Experian Automotive to Deliver Two Auction Industry Firsts with AUTOCHECK® Vehicle History Reports

Susan Marston — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:34:17 +0000

Full, FREE Vehicle History Reports available on 1,000s of wholesale vehicles every day; also, one-click access to view full AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports on OPENLANE.com for other units
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., August 23, 2010 – OPENLANE, Inc., a leading online auction company in North America for automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles, today announced that it has selected Experian Automotive to make full, free AutoCheck vehicle history reports available to dealers for the Company’s dealer consigned and regional seller inventory on OPENLANE.com. Through this partnership, OPENLANE provides its valued buyer base with critical vehicle history information, delivering increased protection and confidence.
When searching OPENLANE’s wide selection of dealer consigned and regional seller inventory, dealers can now view free AutoCheck reports that are directly embedded into each vehicle’s detail page, for an even more seamless and efficient research process. In addition to being the first online wholesale auction in the industry to offer embedded history reports, OPENLANE also now allows dealers who have accounts with AutoCheck to leverage this for full report access when searching for other inventory.
Links to vehicle history reports have become a standard offering on most online auctions. However, by selecting AutoCheck’s full reports, OPENLANE is now able to provide vehicle history data to its buyers which include important events in a vehicle’s history such as major flood damage, frame damage or odometer rollback issues, along with other key information. AutoCheck reports provide twice the number of reported accidents as Carfax and are the only vehicle history reports to feature the AutoCheck Score. This score reflects a number between one and 100 that accurately summarizes
the individual items and events in a vehicle’s history in a way that is easy to understand, and compares it to vehicles similar in age and class.
“OPENLANE has become an important part of many dealers’ arsenals for streamlining their businesses and remaining competitive in this challenging automotive landscape,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. “By integrating AutoCheck with OPENLANE, we are providing its customer base with the information that dealers and consignors demand in order to have confidence in the vehicle and the seller throughout the purchase process.”
“The information provided in AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports gives dealers even more reason to be confident in the online buying process,” said Peter Kelly, president and CFO of OPENLANE. “AutoCheck provides dealers with transparency and trust in the vehicle before they buy.”
About Experian Automotive Experian Automotive, a part of Experian, delivers information services to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies, and consumers. Experian® helps automotive clients increase customer loyalty, target and win new business, and make better lending and vehicle purchase decisions. Its National Vehicle Database, housing more than 625 million vehicles, along with Experian’s credit, consumer and business information assets, meets the industry’s growing demand for an integrated information source. Experian’s advanced decision support services help clients turn this information into improved business results. Experian technology supports top automotive businesses, including eBay Motors, CarsDirect.com, CarMax and NADAguides.com. For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of services, visit our website at http://www.experianautomotive.com.
About OPENLANE
OPENLANE, Inc. is a leading online auction company in North America for automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles. The company offers end-to-end auto remarketing solutions to auto manufacturers, captive finance companies, lease and daily rental companies, financial institutions and wholesale auto auctions throughout the United States and Canada. OPENLANE powers online remarketing programs for American Honda Finance, Audi Financial Services, Avis Budget Group, Chase Auto Finance, Chrysler Financial, Porsche Financial Services, Volkswagen Credit, among others. For more information, please visit www.openlane.com or call +1 (866) 969-0321.

Greece appoints advisers for bank system

Susan Marston — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:21:14 +0000

The Greek government has appointed Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Lazard as advisers to evaluate its options in restructuring the debt-hit country’s bank system.

The finance ministry said on Thursday the state committee on privatisation had named the advisers “to explore and assess the Greek state’s strategic options, to valuate its holdings in the banking sector, and to assess the consequences of such options, especially on the efficiency and stability of the financial system”.

“The government is taking every necessary measure to safeguard the stability of the Greek financial system and promote its strategic restructuring,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

Greece’s debt woes – which saw its government bonds reduced to junk status and prompted a loan rescue by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund – have impacted on the country’s banks, which have found themselves increasingly dependent on the European Central Bank.

The government has repeatedly urged the Greek bank sector to consolidate in recent months to help sustain the ailing economy which is mired in a growing recession.

The Greek state has stakes of varying sizes in a handful of main banks and has received a buyout bid for two of them, ATEbank and Hellenic Postbank, from the country’s fifth-largest lender, Piraeus Bank.

Lenders Loosen Car-Loan Criteria

Susan Marston — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:14:45 +0000

By SHARON TERLEP

DETROIT—Lenders are more willing to extend new car loans to buyers with subpar credit scores, a sign that could bode well for the U.S. auto industry because it puts more customers in a position to buy vehicles, according to a study to be released Thursday.

Loans to consumers with credit scores considered less than prime accounted for 18.2% of auto loans in the second quarter, compared with 17.6% in the year-earlier period, according to Experian Automotive.

The increase, while modest, is an early sign that finance companies are warming to consumers whose credit scores are below the 700 range, said Melinda Zabritski, Experian‘s director of automotive credit.

“While lenders have not loosened their criteria to the levels we saw three years ago, we do see an upward movement in loans to those middle-risk tiers,” Ms. Zabritski said.

A crackdown on lending to riskier borrowers amid the U.S. financial crisis cut off access to car loans for many customers in 2009, contributing to the auto industry’s worst year since the 1980s.

General Motors Co. last month said it would purchase subprime auto lender AmeriCredit Corp. in a $3.5 billion deal designed to free up loans for consumers with less-than-prime credit scores. The auto maker, which unlike most its rivals lacks a so-called captive finance arm, said an inability to reach those buyers was hurting sales.

Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@wsj.com

RBZ repossess vehicles

Susan Marston — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:10:37 +0000

Harare, Zimbabwe, August 22, 2010 – The cash-strapped Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has started has started repossessing some of the top range vehicles the central bank donated to parastatals and several government departments in the run-up to the 2008 March 29 and the ill-fated June 27 Presidential run off.

Various government departments including the army, the notorious Central Intelligence Organization, as well as the public media, Zanu (PF) and war veterans were provided with vehicles by the RBZ and some of these were allegedly used to commit acts of violence, murder and intimidation against opposition supporters and officials.

Sources at the Central Bank said the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity and parastatals falling under it has become the first target of the RBZ in its efforts to reclaim the donated vehicles in order to replenish its dwindling resources.

The bank is now claiming that these vehicles were never donated but loaned to the various government departments for the election period.

The RBZ still has the registration books of these vehicles and has refused to surrender them to the beneficiaries,” said a senior official at the bank.

He said an Isuzu KB vehicle which was being used by the ZBC Masvingo Bureau has already been recalled and over 20 other vehicles donated to the state broadcaster are earmarked for repossession.

Last year, the RBZ demanded that ZBC surrenders the vehicles the bank donated, but the corporation refused arguing that the vehicles were bought using public funds.

The RBZ official said the information has become the first target of the repossession exercise because of reports of allegations of widespread abuse and disappearance of the vehicles.

“We have been told that one very senior official in the ministry has diverted up to 10 vehicles which are now allegedly being used by his girlfriends and at his farm,” said the official.

“ When the scandal was discovered, this official was given an option to buy the vehicles at commercial rates, but he has failed to pay for them. Under normal circumstances this person should have been arrested for fraud and theft but the issue was swept under the carpet.”

Another senior Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity official, Clyde November alleged to be on the run after he was implicated in a scam where top-of-the-range cars donated by the RBZ were sold using fake registration papers.

The scam by November who was the director of Finance, human resources
and transport, exposes how corrupt officials benefited from vehicles that were purchased by the RBZ and distributed to various government departments.

At ZBC it is alleged that some of the donated vehicles were diverted by senior managers who fraudulently registered them in their names. A number of senior state journalists have also benefited from the RBZ vehicles as a reward for propping Zanu (Pf) .

Some of the state journalists who have been given top of the range RBZ vehicles are ZBC’s Reuben Barwe, Judith Makwanya and Tazzen Mandizvidza. From the Zimpapers stable, Ceazer Zvayi, Munyaradzi Huni and Victoria Ruzvidzo have also been rewarded with similar top of the range RBZ vehicles. It is not yet clear whether these vehicles will also be recalled.

RBZ spokesperson Kumbirai Nhongo could not be reached for comment.

The RBZ was for several years involved in non-core activities such as procurement and distribution of vehicles, tractors, inputs, groceries as well as farming, housing and diesel production projects which the bank sponsored through the printing of Zimdollars.

The bank also last year gave motor vehicles to parliamentarians but the legislators are now refusing to return them.

The bank’s non-core activities were blamed for fueling inflation which rose to over 230
million percent at the height of the economic crisis in 2008.