Zimbabwe minister dismayed by lack of confidence in the local currency among legislators

HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI: I want to appreciate the response that everything is ongoing but there must be a certain level or a benchmark time, where we think if we cannot reach stabilisation, then we have to think of other means.  Considering that when we announced the US dollar, which we had in our accounts as one –to-one with the Zimbabwe dollar, today if you go in the market, everyone takes your dollar first and it is between $250 and $270.  For a civil servant, for an ordinary person, this money is not going anywhere and you cannot purchase your drugs even if you go to a pharmacy today, you will get a net of $270.  So, what measures – just pronouncing measures and doing nothing about stopping it will not help us?  What is the real policy of the target of stopping the runaway exchange rate which has gone to $250 from one-to-one?  We might be in a million very soon, we do not know.

HON. ZIYAMBI: Thank you Madam President.  I want to thank the Hon. Member for the follow-up question.  I am not sure where he is getting the ongoing and unending negotiations.  Everywhere we have negotiations that are concluded and a certain agreement is reached.  I am aware that we are at the beginning of the year.  We had a fourth wave that hit us and now things are starting to normalise and meetings are ongoing.

Secondly, I must say that the most disheartening is when Hon. Members have no confidence in their currency.  They speak the language of saying that by such and such a time, it will be a million.  The biggest problem that we have in this country is that of confidence.  People are always speculating what the currency will be at a particular day and try to peg their prices or whatever, using a speculative rate.  That is the work that the Reserve Bank is seized with and we need to deal with those issues to ensure that we stabilise our own currency.  There is no country in the world that has developed using other people’s currency.  So, it is up to all of us Hon. Members included, to think of ways to ensure that we ring-fence the value of our dollar.  If you have any ideas of how to do it rather than speaking of going back where we should not, that will be welcome.  The biggest problem that we have at the moment is, some people try to manipulate the system so that the confidence in our currency is eroded.  I urge all Hon. Members to speak with one voice.  We can do it if we have the will power to ensure that we stick with our own currency and we speak with one voice in terms of ensuring that we revamp our economy.  I thank you Madam President.

HON. SEN. ENG. MUDZURI:  I have a point of order.

THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF SENATE:  What is your point of order, Hon. Senator?

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