By Dorcas Rumano

Speaking as guest speaker at a Mid-Term Budget Review in Bulawayo today, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube encouraged the public to embrace the use of the local currency and to be proud of it.

Professor Ncube said the budget that was passed by Parliament buttresses the use of RTGS$ as the sole legal tender in Zimbabwe as was suggested by the SI 142 of 2019.

He added that there is not much difference in commodity prices since the introduction of RTGS$. He said the same Mazoe drink which people were buying for USD3.00 now costs almost the same price in bond notes if the price is calculated using the current interbank exchange rate.

Professor Ncube said other regional countries such as Zambia use their local currencies on most of their local transactions.

“If you go to Zambia you would find that till operators wouldn't know what USD notes look like, despite the challenges they have had on their local currency,” he said.

He went on to say, for Zimbabwe to become a middle income economy by 2030, there is need to eliminate all deficits that were incurred in the past. The Finance Minister also noted that the budget that he recently presented is a pro-poor and also pro-growth, highlighting that if Government sticks to it; it will work towards economic prosperity.

As one of the ways of implementing the economic recovery path through Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), Minister Ncube said 60% of devolution funds have already been disbursed to local authorities.

The Mid-term Budget Review Breakfast meeting was attended by a number of business people across the nation, including Chairman of Oil Expressers Association, Busisa Moyo.