Ecocash, the largest mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service in Zimbabwe has started blocking Agent Lines which are reportedly being used for illegal buying and selling of foreign currency.
The move is in compliance with a directive from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which orders the company to freeze the accounts.
A message that was sent on Friday to one of the Agents whose line was blocked read:
EcoCash
Dear Partner. Please be advised that we received a directive from Financial Intelligence Unit to bar your line. We have barred your line in compliance. Regards.
The freezing of these accounts is believed to be a strategy by the central bank to curb the runaway exchange rates which have seen the Zimbabwean dollar losing value against other currencies at an unparalleled rate.
Last year when the bank issued such a directive, the local currency regained value, only for a few days and then continued on a downward trend.
The local currency has been shedding value since its reintroduction in June last year when the government ditched the multicurrency system with some alluding the poor performance of the currency to lack of confidence in the government.
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Is it true
It is a good move for Central bank to control the rates such as black markets, but they also need to consider controlling the prices of the Shops because all shops in Zimbabwe are selling their products in black market. Other smart shops are using interbank rates but they price their commodities in black market prices. Previously, the same policy didn’t work because the government failed to consider the black markets taking place in the business community. Sure it is pointless to control the price of black market and forget about the price of bread that is priced at black market. Hopefully, this time around stiff measures have been applied as a means of protecting consumers from hands of these blood thirst dealers. Hopefully someone out there also see how prices of commodities are tripping.
Fiddling with the exchange rates without sorting out the governance and economic fundamentals is akin to fiddling while Rome burns. Corruption and lack of a credible, democratic government, accepted within and without the country are the causes of the current chaos. Fix it.