Zimbabweans may soon be able to change ZiG to US dollars and vice-versa on their phones

HON. D. K. MNANGAGWA:  Mr. President, in any reform process such as we have now, you will always have three groupings of people.  

The first group of people will always be the ones who will abide by the law because they are stickers with the law.  Whether it is a good law or a bad law, they will always abide by the law. 

The second group Mr. President, is one that lags behind as they seem to understand what it means to them, what the reforms will do to their business, how it affects and how they trade.  

Then there is a third group that will always be defiant regardless of how good the law is. The Hon. Senator is referring to the last one.  These are the defiant ones.  I will mention why Mr. President.  

The biggest demand for foreign currency was driven by importers in the past.  Importers were unable to access foreign currency on the official market and would go to the black market.  What this new structured currency and what the Governor has guaranteed is that anyone who wants to import any of their goods and presents a bona fide invoice will get foreign currency from the interbank.  

Anyone who wants to import a service or who wants to pay for a service, whether it is school fees or any service that requires foreign currency, you have to go to the bank, with your invoice to get that foreign currency.  Failure to get that foreign currency because there are no willing sellers of that foreign currency or the banks are still skeptical, the Governor has cover.  

This is where the structure comes in.  He has to cover three times over to purchase of that ZiG and give the foreign currency.  This is why we have some of the reserves in physical cash.  That means that there is no reason for any of our importers who constitute a large part of our retailers to be charging different rates or going to the streets.

Mr. President, we will have a group of money launderers.  Money launderers is a group of people who would have gotten money through nefarious methods.  They might have missed proceeds and are not sensitive to the exchange rate that they convert their money into USD cash that they can hide from the law.  These people will always be there and there, in any country that you go to.  

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