Businesses Now Required To List Prices In Both USD And Local Currency, A Practice Declared Illegal A Few Months Ago

Zimbabwean authorities should just make up their minds especially the central bank. This institution flip flops more than a pair of slippers that go by that name.

Dual pricing

Today the RBZ Governor issued a statement on the re-introduction of the interbank foreign currency auction. His statement concluded by saying:

Dual Pricing System
In order to enhance the efficient pricing system in the economy, businesses will be required to display prices for goods and services and charge for all domestic transactions in both local and foreign currency at the ruling market rate.

But there is a law that prohibits that

In September last year, the government published a statutory instrument (their preferred mode of circumventing the parliament and passing arbitrary laws) which says:

In particular no person shall quote, display, label, solicit for the payment of, receive or pay the price of any goods, services, fee or commission in any currency other than the Zimbabwe Dollar.

This offense of course came with a hefty fine (well at the time) for each day you displayed prices in USD.

All this confusion

This is what happens when laws and directives are made on the fly and with crazy doses of myopia. Is anyone pausing to think through anything anymore? We are all confused and we get poorer every time goal posts are changed on us. Taneta purizi…