Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, has announced that the government will soon be introducing regulations to enforce the use of the official exchange rate for pricing goods and services.
In a statement, Professor Ncube highlighted that since the exchange rate is market-determined, there is no basis for private and public organizations, as well as economic agencies, to use any other exchange rate in the pricing of goods and services other than the prevailing average interbank foreign currency selling exchange rates as published by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
“In light of this, the Ministry emphasizes the urgency and importance of a swift transition and market adoption of the Zimbabwe Investment Guidelines (ZIG) by all stakeholders. We call upon all MDAs and the private sector, including retailers and service providers, to accept the ZIG in all financial transactions, including payments of salaries as well as procurement,” said Professor Ncube.
He further stressed that this collective effort would contribute to a smooth transition towards a more stable economic environment.
“Furthermore, unless there is specific legislation allowing charges or fees to be collected in USD only, all collections by Government and the private sector shall be made in ZIG or any of the currencies in the multi-currency basket without insisting on specific type of currency or indexing invoices to the USD,” said Professor Ncube
The move is aimed at ensuring orderly pricing and a more stable economic environment. The enforcement of the official exchange rate for pricing goods and services is expected to streamline economic activities and enhance transparency in financial transactions.
The announcement by Professor Ncube follows the introduction of the new gold backed currency (ZIG) amidst lack of confidence in the new currency by businesses and citizens.
