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President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the country’s economy is under attack from opportunists and exorbitant pricing models by the private sector resulting in the serious weakening of the local currency.
The Zimbabwe dollar is officially pegged at 25 to the US dollar, but on the parallel market it is trading at a significant premium at an exchange rate of between 65 and 70 to the US dollar.
President Mnangagwa said Government is fully cognisant that this is a battle being fuelled by our “political detractors, elite opportunists and malcontents who are bent on pushing a nefarious agenda they will never win.”
“We did not liberate this country for selfish profiteers and greedy individuals but for all the people in our land who have a right to enjoy a better quality of life. As a party we must always thrive to achieve this,” said President Mnangagwa.
The weakening Zimbabwe dollar is of major concern and the RBZ’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) spend a considerable time deliberating on the issue at its last meeting held on May 22, 2020.
A statement released by the RBZ this week revealed that the MPC is seriously concerned over the continued deterioration in the exchange rates that were widely being used by the private sector.
The MPC resolved that a formal market-based system of foreign exchange trading will be put in place.
“To ensure that foreign currency trades were monitored in real time, the Committee urged the Bank to expedite the implementation of the electronic foreign exchange trading system for compulsory use by bureaux de change.
“The Committee also urged more active application of the Open Market Operations (OMO) Bills to deal with any identified excess liquidity balances in the market,” reads part of the statement.
New Ziana/Business Weekly
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