Ecocash, The Stock Exchange Not The Problem - Biti

Former Finance Minister and MDC Alliance Vice President Tendai Biti has said the move by the government to ban mobile money transactions and trading at the Stock Exchange does not make sense as they were not to blame for the prevailing economic downfall, The Standard reports.

Commenting on the issue the firebrand politician and lawyer said:

It does not make economic sense. The reason why we have a black market in the economy is not because of Ecocash or the stock exchange, it’s because we are simply not producing.

You cannot have a government that specialises in creating difficulties for its citizens. Think of the millions of people who cannot access money in banks who rely on mobile transfers.

Biti’s sentiments were echoed by Zimbabwe Information and Communication Technologies chairman Jacob Mutisi who also said:

This will put a dent to our crippled economy and completely shut down the nation’s biggest e-commerce platform. The problem in Zimbabwe is not Ecocash or mobile money fraud, externalisation or pure advanced airtime sales, but the dysfunctional government policies in general and on the fiscal and monetary policies in particular.

The move by the government to suspend trading at the stock exchange and ban some mobile money transactions came on the day the ZWL reached a new low and traded $100 against a single American dollar.

More: The Standard