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The Herald, July 13, 1981
THE Government is carrying out special exercises to track down people who violate exchange control regulations, the Secretary to the Treasury, Mr B. Walters said yesterday.
He said there had been a sharp rise in the number of exchange control violations since independence with some foreigners being involved.
“I cannot say by what percentage such crimes have increased since independence,” he said.
“Although the country is losing foreign exchange through irregularities, it is not possible to give an estimate of the amount involved.”
The special exercises involving the police, Department of Customs and the Exchange Control Investigations Branch would be a continuing process.
The exercises would be undertaken from time to time when a particular type of offence became prevalent.
“Examples are recent searching exercises carried out on train passengers at border posts and special border patrols by the police and army,” Mr Walters said.
On the present exchange control regulations, he said these were effective in keeping outflows of foreign exchange from Zimbabwe at a level consistent with the country’s balance of payments position. “The regulations were designed for this purpose.”
The regulations would be reviewed from time to time in an attempt to seal loopholes in exchange control.
Mr Walters added that some money had been recovered from the offenders. Although it was difficult to know who were the main culprits, a number of people in the business sector and individuals had been involved in violations of exchange control regulations.
The country was also losing money through frauds and the smuggling of gemstones.
“It is not possible to give an estimate of the amount involved,” Mr Walters said.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
- The violation of exchange control regulations is a serious crime since it has serious consequences especially on the economy and people’s livelihood.
- In most cases such violations are treated as serious crimes that attract a custodial sentence.
- Violators of exchange control regulations need to be dealt with a heavy hand since their actions have far reaching effects. The Government has taken a strong stance on such people who have been manipulating exchange controls to weaken the local currency as a way of pushing their regime change agenda ahead of the harmonised elections slated for next month.
Online Reporter