Jasper Hloka

Government’s ban on United States dollars and other foreign currencies has begun yielding positive dividends with illegal foreign currency dealers hitting the panic button resulting in rates tumbling on the streets.

A snap survey carried out by the Harare Post can reveal that on average, one can dispose their US$100 at RTGS$850 from RTGS$1200, while they can buy the US$100 at RTGS$900 at the black market.

A group of people could be seen loitering around Holiday Inn Hotel in Harare Central Business District, taking turns for Ecocash transfers from a handful of foreign currency dealers who were reluctant to exhaust their liquid and hard cash floats.

A foreign currency dealer only identified as Tai, remarked that business was no longer as usual as people are waiting on official Bureaux de change whose rates are competitive and reasonable to ordinary individuals. Tai gave out that “Government’s removal of administration limits of Bureaux de changes and scrapping of profit caps, has given an upper hand to the formal market. We are at a tight fix mukoma, chikorobho chaoma ichi (the going has gotten tough).”

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya clarifying on Bureaux de changes stressed that “these entities are no longer restricted  to US$10 000 limit on their transactions and we have removed the 2.5 percent on the margin for banks and Bureaux de change to ensure market efficiency.” 

Interventions by the central bank has seen the migration of people from the parallel market to the formal market.

The heat has also been felt by car dealers and sellers most of whom have since pulled down their USD price tags in compliance with Government’s latest move to sanitize the economy which had been crumbling at the behest of the parallel market.

Most shop operators have also pulled down their USD price tags since Tuesday, 25 June 2019 when Government issued a directive on the immediate ceasing of all trades in USDs.