The argument, therefore, is probably about fixing the exchange rate at 25:1 which critics say only allows cartels with access to cash to purchase cheap US dollars from the central bank.
The Zimbabwe dollar had already fallen to 26:1 before the new measures by Mangudya and was zeroing in on the black market.
With the lockdown that started yesterday, this gap would have been narrowed even more and the dollar now trades at 38:1 down from 45:1, according to Marketwatch.
Mangudya’s measures were a reversal of Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s measures announced on 11 March which included a managed floating exchange rate where commercial banks played a major role as opposed to the central bank which has sneaked back.
Ncube’s fiscal measures had the approval of the International Monetary Fund which opens doors to international finance.
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