The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s financial intelligence Units sued 256 companies for illegally dealing with foreign currency.
The government of Zimbabwe cracks down on manipulators through speculative behaviour.
Finance and Economic development minister Clarence Chiduwa said individuals and firms are deviating from legitimate economic activities that created wealth and resorting to activities whose effect was to make money through illegal activities.
“We have arrested 256 companies, some of them are big firms involved in the black market. People no longer want to work. They no longer want to derive money from legitimate means like production but casino activities……” Deputy Minister Chiduwa said.
Energy and Power Development Deputy Minister Magna Mudyiwa while responding to a question on why fuel sold in local currency is not available to the motoring public said that fuel charged in local currency is available in limited quantities.
“The Zimbabwean dollar fuel is in quantities. Those service stations selling fuel exclusively in foreign currency would have imported using their free funds. Those service stations selling fuel in local currency would have obtained foreign currency from the auction market but that fuel usually goes to government departments such as hospitals, ZESA and CMED, ” She said.
Meanwhile, The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, together with the Monetary Policy Committee signalled that it is giving up the fight to control the exchange rate and inflation.
In its latest sitting, the MPC said the adverse inflation and exchange rate performances being experienced in Zimbabwe are a result of perception by risk-averse Zimbabweans still traumatised by last year’s experience. This week the local unit lost 4,17%on the auction market. This is the weekly loss since November 2021. On average the Zimbabwean dollar has lost 2,7% per week on the formal market since the beginning of the year.
