Finance and Economic Development Deputy Minister Clemence Chiduwa said that importers will soon be required to declare the legal source of their foreign currency under a new policy that is being crafted.
However, Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers Association president Denford Mutashu asserted that the policy will have a negative impact on business. He said:
The first problem with such a regulation is that most Zimbabweans have of late not been conducting their business through the formal banking channels, so if they were to be asked to indicate the source of foreign currency you will find that most will struggle.
… it will limit legal imports as most traders will prefer to pay a kick-back here or there while some will stop trading and keep their foreign currency in their homes rather than being asked to justify its source.
Chiduwa made the remarks in a post-Budget media interface he addressed on Friday in the company of Minister Mthuli Ncube and permanent secretary George Guvamatanga.
The policy is aimed at killing the foreign currency black market, with illegal foreign currency deals being conducted openly in all major cities and towns.
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Government wants to kill the black market foreign currency, here is a super simple solution “MAKE FOREIGN CURRENCY AVAILABLE AT BANKS!!”
Why is there a black market, because it is not available and it is required, make it available and let people go about their business. If you are a retailer selling imported products do you think they want to spend 80% if not more of their time trying to source foreign currency to pay their suppliers? Is that why they went into business? to try and source a currency that their suppliers will accept?
Every business in Zimbabwe dedicates a huge amount of time, and incurs high costs through simply trying to pay suppliers, why? because the finance ministry has failed, is failing and continues to fail in doing the one thing they are there for.
Until retailers can pay suppliers, until an accepted currency is available for trade their will be a black market for foreign currency, it will only go away when the need for it goes away and not before.
If it becomes more difficult to source foreign currency but still easier than getting it from the banks, that cost will simply be passed on to the consumer as it is right now.
Please can someone offer courses for our ministers, they all are in dire need of an education on the basics of an economy and then maybe the country can stop hurtling backwards and start to improve.