Yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the government is crafting a new law which will compel businesses that get forex from the central bank to sell their products locally in bond notes. Speaking in Kadoma, he said;
………On the other hand they come to queue for foreign currency at the Reserve Bank to buy these drugs from other countries and yet they want to charge people in foreign currency. We said whoever does that, we revoke their licence and they reverted to the local currency. We are now crafting a law that ensures that all products purchased from outside the country using foreign currency from Treasury should not be charged in foreign currency.
It’s true that some companies are benefiting from getting money from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, yet they charge people for merchandise here in forex. Such rent-seeking behavior should be criminalized. With how pricey it is to buy forex using bond notes, it’s totally hurtful to ask people who earn bond notes to pay using forex. Accordingly, should this law coming to pass, it could provide a reprieve to many people who have been failing to buy things such as medical drugs because they don’t have foreign currency. The President’s statement comes after a provision that requires businesses to remit their taxes in the currency they would have received the payments was enacted 3 weeks ago.
3 comments
Even this whole parallel rate pricing is wicked to say the least! Businesses would have a small component needing forex while most of the large cost drivers are in fake money yet the selling price at the end will all be done at the parallel rate!
The trouble is that we Zimbo’s don’t say NO! We all should be refusing to buy at these riduculous prices it’s still way cheaper to buy your currency and catch ‘public transport’ to outside the borders and still pay duty…
Even when someone is dying because he/she doesn’t have the required money to buy the prescribed drugs? Ndotoenda kunze kkk