We cannot run a country with a currency that is not ours- Zimbabwe says

HON. BITI: Thank you Madam Speaker. My question is directed to my friend the Minister of Finance. We banned the use of foreign currency in two laws; Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019 and Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019. In Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021 which is now incorporated in the Finance Act, we were protecting the ZD to make sure that every trader uses the Zim dollar and to penalise traders who refuse to accept the Zim dollar such as OK Bazaars and others who are refusing to accept the local currency for the US dollar.  So, there is no dual pricing system in Zimbabwe legally.  My question is, why is the Minister misrepresenting the facts that number 1, we have a dual pricing system and Number 2, the use of foreign currency by traders including Ok Bazaars is an acknowledgement of the failure of the de-dollarization process.  We ask once more why the Government is not simply dollarizing?  I thank you.

*HON. TEKESHE: On a point of order Madam Speaker. My point of order is that we should find a solution by telling the truth.  I buy from Ok and TM, they accept swipe.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Thank you Hon. Tekeshe.

HON. CHIDUWA:  Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I think the Hon. Member is the one who is misrepresenting the facts.  The fact is that when COVID-19 pandemic started, as part of the convenience measures that we put as a Government, we allowed the US dollar to move together with the Zim dollar but the use of the US dollar and the Zim dollar in terms of pricing, we do not say the Statutory Instrument 127 which is now part of the Finance Bill allows the display of  both prices, that is the Zim dollar price and the US dollar price; this is what is there, we have not changed from that.

Madam Speaker, with regards to the usage of the US dollar, we have said this thing many times, you cannot run a country without the monetary policy leg.  What the Hon. Member is advocating for does not work – [HON. BITI:  It works, it worked during the GNU] – It does not work for us – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections] –

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER:  Order, order.

HON. CHIDUWA:  We are going to use the Zim dollar, how this happened during the GNU, I am sure people know that there was no investment in infrastructure.  I think I have answered the Hon. Member.   We have got a clear path in terms of where we are going. We cannot run a country with a currency which is not ours.  We are going to ensure that we move from the usage of the US dollar to the Zimbabwe dollar, so this is where we are going.

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