EcoCash Should Help Us To Monitor & Control It’s Platform – RBZ

Alvine Chaparadza

John Mangudya (RBZ Governor)

RBZ Governor, Dr John Mangudya has urged EcoCash to help the central bank to monitor and control it’s platform. Dr Mangudya’s comments are on the heels of a controversial ban which EcoCash is already challenging in the High Court.

First off Dr Mandudya started by acknowledging that EcoCash’s platform is not inherently bad but rather it’s being abused by unscrupulous agents. As reported by the Herald, the Governor said:

We are seriously seized with the EcoCash matter to see what the best way forward is. But of course, it’s not about the platform; it is about the people who are abusing the platform.

I agree with the Governor here because when I look at it from one angle, EcoCash is not the problem but it’s agents are. The agents are just abusing the EcoCash platform that was born with good intentions.

However, when I look at it from another angle, EcoCash hasn’t done enough to curb the erratic behaviour of it’s agents which is why RBZ issued the ban in the hope that EcoCash quickly find solutions. I’ve always argued that EcoCash could have done much more to curb the behaviour of unscrupulous agents than just warning them or taking away their agent lines (sim cards).

And then the Governor went on to say:

Econet should help us monitor and control the conduct of this segment of the financial services market because for Econet, this is their road (platform) and some roads need humps, others have traffic lights while others have detours; Econet must help us because this is their road.

Econet must play a part, given that for instance, if you exceed the regulated speed on a highway, you risk being slapped with fines for flouting road rules and regulations; these are issues of governance and Econet needs to help foster discipline on their platform among its agents

What has happened (suspending cash-in and cash-out) should be a wakeup call for everyone; we need a united front from everyone to deal with the problem. We must say let’s cease fire, stop fighting or blaming each other, but let’s re-establish the rules of engagement

Also read: Masiyiwa On EcoCash Agents Selling Cash, “Whose Cash Are Agents Selling?

11 comments

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  1. Ranowahi

    Sincerely asking : how does cash, even brand new notes, end up (or rather start up) on the street rather than the banks? How is there lots and lots of money, including brand new notes and coins, on the street with the agents, and nothing in the banks? Could it be that the banking system is prioritizing “cashing out” to agents or businesses rather than individuals? Can’t the RBZ do better on this one too?

    Reply
    1. Farai Mudzingwa

      Everyone who can sell cash is selling it I suppose. Banks to agents, agents to the rest of us. Chaora chinhu ichi

      Reply
  2. Samaita

    1. Original source is obviously, RBZ.

    2. Banks get cash from RBZ. Unscrupulous managers take it to the streets, for a premium.

    3. RBZ itself can take cash directly to the street, in exchange for USD.

    Reply
  3. Lodza

    The #ecocash agents who sell money are not the issue.
    The real issue is the shortage of paper money (musvo) in the market.
    This is another tragic failure courtesy of the central bank, RBZ!
    So the RBZ-Government’s decision is once again a demonstration of how clueless they are!

    Reply
  4. Wizzy

    The third force had gone to the levels of disrupting the buying of electricity, provision of clean safe water, ecocash transfer system. What is next for the government of Mnangagwa ? He failed completely, the best he did is creating a disorderly and dysfunctional country !

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    It’s just they want to “monitor” money so they can raise more for the budget in a few weeks.

    Reply
  6. wokenman

    I’m gonna be in the minority here: you can’t let ecocash off the hook, and they shouldn’t get to wash their hands and claim “it’s not our cash being sold” or whatever their excuses are because they ARE benefiting from the charges generated by that money moving around and THEY DO see the quantities go in and out, and the mismatching figures. It’s like this; unemota yako Honda Fit hanti, wopa vafana kuti vanoshikisa and wovati vafana ini ndoda certain amount at the end of each day. Then you hear there is a Honda Fit being used to rob people, everybody says kuti IMOTA YAKO iri kushandiswa and ine distinct description saka it’s for sure ndeyako, but still you are happy to take mari from vafana at the end of each day – ARE YOU NOT COMPLICIT? Ecocash case is even more extreme its like Honda Fit yacho itori ne GPS and uri kutowona kuti kuma area kuri kubirwa vanhu, mota yako inenge iriko.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    Ahh this Agent cash out thing was OUT OF control – ECONET should have controlled this situation 3years ago – RBZ is correct – here …. (for once)

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    Positive spin-offs from the RBZ ban seem to be threatened by the same agents who are now using their ordinary lines. If, for every agent his/her other lines are monitored then we might get somewhere nacho chinhu ich

    Reply
  9. Ftm009

    The scarcity of hard cash notes in the circultion is the root problem to the buying and selling of cash in the streets by ecocash agents. Therefore RBZ should be held accountable for this not Econet. Bannibg ecocash cash and cash out is just fixing the ordinary citizens who are already in quagmire because of the shortage of cash notes or coins from banks. If there is money in the banks agents won’t be able to sell cash because people will have that guaeantee that if they need cash they will simply go to the bank or get it from the ATM anytime. So can RBZ and the governmenr at large

    Reply
  10. TRICKY

    RBZ might be doing right to the people that weren’t agents cause a majority of people were suffering but let us not forget NHAMO IS IN NHAMO when things were right no one had to become an agent who changes cash so its better some people step down cause they are indeed completely cursed to be leaders how can an uneducated killing machine rep-ital become a leader

    Reply

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