Online Reporter
Business Reporter
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Dr John Mushayavanhu has announced the retention of the 30 percent export surrender requirement for most exporters, while simultaneously moving to gradually incorporate small-scale gold miners into the formal surrender framework to close regulatory loopholes.
Presenting the 2026 Monetary Policy Statement today, the Governor confirmed that the central bank will maintain the existing structure requiring exporters to surrender 30 percent of their foreign currency earnings to the central bank and retain 70 percent.
The Governor cited improved conditions in global commodity markets as a key factor supporting the decision to keep the surrender requirement constant.
“We are seeing an uptick in the prices of our commodities,” he explained. “So even if we export the same quantity as last year, we should be able to realise more because the price has gone up. So 30 percent of a larger figure will be a larger figure.
Small-scale miners brought into the fold
In a significant policy shift, Dr Mushayavanhu announced that small-scale gold miners will no longer enjoy blanket exemption from surrender requirements, a move designed to address what he described as inequities and arbitrage opportunities in the current system.
Under the new arrangements, small-scale gold miners will be required to surrender 10 percent of their earnings and retain 90 percent, with the figure being subject to review over time.
The Governor explicitly linked the policy change to the emergence of regulatory arbitrage, whereby larger producers had been exploiting the exemption of small-scale miners to circumvent surrender requirements.
“We were beginning to see arbitrage activities where large-scale gold miners were now marketing their gold via the small-scale channel as if they were small-scale. We want to bridge that,” he said.
The move represents a tightening of the regulatory framework governing the gold sector, which is a critical source of foreign currency earnings for the country.
By gradually integrating small-scale producers into the surrender regime, the RBZ aims to broaden the foreign currency pool available to support the interbank market while ensuring a level playing field across the mining sector.
Bongani Ndlovu