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Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
THE Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion has announced the transition from the Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL) to the new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) following the recent announcement of the 2024 Monetary Policy Statement by the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) on April 5, 2024.
Statutory Instrument 60 of 2024, Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) legalised and operationalised the new currency thus Government and banks immediately started transitioning to these new currency arrangements.
In a statement, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Professor Mthuli Ncube said as Government continued to configure its Public Finance Management System (PFMS) to facilitate revenue collection and payment for goods and services in local currency, all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and the private sector alike, were advised to accept and recognise the ZiG as the official currency for all financial transactions, and payment for all goods and services effective immediately.
“The ZiG is a gold backed currency that has been introduced as part of Government efforts to stabilise the economy restore confidence in the financial system and provide a conducive business environment,” he said.
“In order to stabilise the value of the ZiG, Government has introduced a liberalised foreign exchange market where the exchange rate is freely determined by the banking system based on demand and supply. This is supported by a pool of gold and foreign exchange reserves at the RBZ which is more than adequate to back the local currency money supply in circulation.
“The availability of such reserves will ensure that all bonafide and legitimate requests for foreign exchange made through banking system will be fully satisfied. It should be noted that since the exchange rate is market determined, there is no basis for private and public organisations and economic agencies to use any other exchange rate in the pricing of their goods and services other than the prevailing average interbank foreign currency selling exchange rate as published by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.”
Minister Ncube said to ensure orderly pricing, Government will soon be introducing the necessary regulations to ensure that no exchange rate other than the official rate will be used for the pricing of all goods and services.
“In light of this, the Ministry emphasises the urgency and importance of a swift transition and market adoption of the ZiG by all stakeholders,” he said.
“We call upon all MDAs and the private sector including retailers, and service providers to accept the ZiG in all financial transactions, including payments of salaries as well as for procurement. This collective effort will contribute to the smooth transition towards a more stable economic environment.
“Furthermore, unless there is specific legislation allowing charges or fees to be collected in USD only, all collections by Government and the private sector shall be made in ZiG or any of the currencies in the multicurrency basket without insisting on a specific type of currency or indexing invoices to the USD.
“We urge the media fraternity to support the Government by widely publicising the new currency in order to promote acceptance and adoption by the market.”
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