Finance and Economic Development Secretary, George Guvamatanga has warned government departments to desist from giving preference to clients paying for services in US dollars as opposed to local currency.
In a memo to heads of government departments and agencies, Guvamatanga said banning the Zimbabwe dollar through pegging service fees solely in foreign currency was unnecessarily fueling public resentment towards the local currency.
“In this regard, ministries, departments and agencies are required to observe the multicurrency regime by providing options to citizens on payment for government Services.
“Instances where Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies show preference for the US$ when charging for services to the general public should stop forthwith as it is contrary to the current Government policy position.
“This general rule applies to all public institutions, except where explicit authority has been granted to charge exclusively in foreign currency,” he said.
The Zimbabwe government presides over a multi-currency system which has seen authorities peg an official exchange rate for the US dollar, but the official rate is much lower than that offered by dealers on the parallel market.
Unstable local currency exchange rates have also seen business entities prefer the US dollar to cushion themselves from losses associated with goods pegged in a volatile currency.
Under Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, Zimbabwe remains adamant the much resented local currency shall remain despite public pressure for authorities to dollarize and secure the value of bank balances.
However, a recent price surge which saw retailers peg prices based on a US$1: ZWL$4,000 has forced authorities into a raft of stopgap measures which include scrapping of duty on selected basic commodities.
The US dollar official exchange rate sits at ZWL$1,900 against the parallel market rate which stands as between ZWL$2,000 and ZWL$4,000.
