Christopher_Makaza

The recently introduced Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 will not affect the ongoing tobacco marketing season, an RBZ official has said.

Addressing delegates at a tobacco all stakeholders meeting organised by Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) in Harare today, the RBZ official said the payment modalities which were put in place at the beginning of the marketing season will continue until the end.

"The introduction of SI 142 will not affect the current payment systems at tobacco auction floors. Farmers will continue to receive part of their money in RTGS and 50 percent of their net payments will be given in USD that will be deposited in their nostro accounts," she said.

The official said farmers could exchange their USD to RTGs at the prevailing interbank rate.

SI 142 was introduced on 24 June to put an end to the multicurrency system and reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar for all local transactions.

The official said RBZ fully support tobacco farmers as they are the ones who bring much of the needed foreign currency in the country, adding that the central bank will continue to engage farmers, conscientising them on the new payment modalities to avoid confusion.

Same also highlighted that RBZ will continue to support the tobacco farmer financially through the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) which administers the finances.

Speaking at the same meeting, ZFU Executive Director, Mr Paul Zacharia emphasized the need for setting up Tobacco Information Centres where farmers will have access to the latest updates regarding the growing, marketing and the general management of tobacco.

"I understand farmers have WhatsApp groups where they share notes on the growing of the golden Leaf but they lack proper content which is accurate and useful. There is information gap between farmers and other stakeholders which include contractors, banks and TIMB among others. The setting up of information centres will therefore bridge the gap to a larger extent," he said.