RBZ Has Not Given Pharmacies Forex Since October 2018

Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe president, Mr Portifa Mwendera, said members are charging in foreign currency because they are not getting adequate forex from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

He said 90 percent of all medication is imported. Mwendera said the remaining 10 percent of the medicines were being sourced locally but local manufacturers are also demanding forex saying they need it to buy inputs from outside the country. He said the central bank has not given them foreign currency since October 2018. Said Mwendera:

Our greatest challenge is that 90 percent of our products are imported and the locally produced medication has a forex component. We haven’t received any forex allocation from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe since October 23 last year when we received just a million dollars. This is in an environment where we need about $4 million weekly to be trading optimally so this means the industry is forced to raise USD through sales.

Mwendera said pharmaceuticals owe foreign suppliers about US$20 million for medicines that have already been delivered.

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