The Consumer Protection Commission in cooperation with the police and the Financial Intelligence Unit launched a crackdown on companies that refuse to accept Zimdollar after the launch of a new currency last week.
But observers said the attack was a “useless exercise” after the central bank postponed the introduction of the new currency.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), John Mushayavanhu, last Friday introduced a new currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). The central bank said the new banknotes and coins will be introduced on April 30.
This has left citizens stranded as some stores have refused to accept Zimdollars. Those who accept Zimdollar use ridiculous rates to convert it.
Consumer Protection Commission Director of Research and Public Affairs Kodakwashe Muderiri confirmed that they had received complaints from customers of unscrupulous companies refusing to accept ZWL$ notes, in violation of government policy.
“It is important to note that ZWL$ is still legal tender and citizens of the country have been given 21 days to change their ZWL$ notes and coins to ZiG,” Modirere said, adding: “The penalty will be heavy for these.” A violation of exchange control regulations was found by refusing to accept $ZWL notes.”
Among those affected were consumers who failed to purchase ZISA tokens with the new local currency.
The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration yesterday also refused to accept local currency at toll gates on the grounds that the government has banned the local currency.
The situation was exacerbated by banks taking longer than expected to convert ZWL$ balances into ZiG as there was fear that the move could negatively impact reception of the new currency.
A roll call conducted by NewsDay last night showed that African Century, POSB, EmpowerBank, Stanbic Bank, O’mari MyCash and EcoCash had successfully completed the currency conversion.
There are 19 banks in Zimbabwe, including 14 commercial banks, four building societies and one savings bank.
Despite the chaos, Zimbabwe’s only national electronic funds exchange and clearing house has set transaction limits. The person-to-person transaction limit is set to ZiG2 400. The monthly transaction limit is ZiG8 000.
National Consumer Rights Association spokesperson, Efe Ncube, described the introduction of ZiG as chaotic, adding that it would kill confidence in the currency.
“The system is crucial to market confidence that will determine the value of the new currency. After introducing different currencies on five or so occasions over the past two decades, it was imperative that the Fed this time be more efficient and upfront with all the information,” Ncube said last night.
“It should have been avoided to have unanswered questions days after the introduction of the new currency. The process should be decisive and decisive at all stages.
“People want to know what is different now and what can prevent the same results from happening as was the case with previous currencies since 2000.”
One banker said last night that what the Fed did was unprecedented and worked against the adoption of the local currency.
“The Zimdollar has been eliminated and there is a gap in the market. You cannot go for 72 hours without a local currency and expect it to wave its magic wand. After a week, people will say that the local currency is no longer necessary. If the economy works for three days without… “In the financial sector, the message is clear: the economy has become informal.”
An economist at a leading financial institution said the failure of most banks to convert ZWL dollar balances to ZiG and the postponement of the introduction of the new currency will absorb the confidence gained after Mushayavanhu announced that he would stick to his core business and work on it. Do not accept interference from any party.
“It was easier to score than to waste. Unfortunately, Moshayavanhu missed this opportunity. No one knows if he will show himself again,” the economist said.
Zimbabwe Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union president Obert Masarore said yesterday that the introduction of the ZiG currency was aimed at penalizing the poor who do not have access to the US dollar.
“There is a transition period, but government departments and agencies are not accepting ZWL dollars,” he said. Newsday
