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SENATE yesterday passed the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill after it had been on the House Order Paper for close to three months.The Bill was passed as amended by the House of Assembly and now awaits President Mugabe's assent to become law.Debate on the Bill was postponed from December to this year to afford Senators closer scrutiny of its contents.Chimanimani Senator Cde Monica Mutsvangwa then proposed nine amendments, arguing that Finance Minister Tendai Biti wanted to use the Bill to settle personal differences with RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono.Zanu-PF House of Assembly representatives had also made similar accusations before Minister Biti effected some amendments to the original RBZ Amendment Bill.

However, Minister Biti yesterday said: "Given the discussions that have taken place in the past few weeks and especially on Monday, I move that the House rejects Senator Mutsvangwa's amendments."Last year Minister Biti told the Senate that President Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy PM Arthur Mutambara would consult on the Bill following Senators' reservations.The Bill, if it becomes law, will require the central bank to stick to monetary policy formulation and bank supervision and not engage in any quasi-fiscal activities.Minister Biti contends that the quasi-fiscal activities the RBZ engaged in over the past 10 years worsened the economic situation of the country.Many analysts have, however, dismissed Minister Biti's assertion saying the illegal Western economic sanctions meant the RBZ had to intervene with extraordinary measures to ensure economic survival.