The monetary policy to be announced by Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya today is expected to proffer solutions to
prices that have been going up and announce measures to create financial
stability in the economy.
Speaking ahead of the Monetary Policy Statement yesterday,
Dr Mangudya said the statement will be designed to deal with the various
challenges facing the economy.
“The Monetary Policy Statement will be issued tomorrow
(today) and is aimed at addressing price and financial stability in the
economy,” said Dr Mangudya.
“As you know, our responsibility as defined in the RBZ Act,
is to ensure price and financial stability, so that is what we will be
addressing in the statement.”
Dr Mangudya said the RBZ would also address the foreign
currency shortages that have seen the emergence of a parallel market for the
greenback.
Zimbabwe is facing foreign currency shortages that have
seen prices of basic commodities rising as companies struggle to raise money
for the purchase of equipment and essential raw materials.
“We also need to deal with the foreign currency issue,”
said Dr Mangudya. “As you know, demand for foreign currency is outstripping
supply and it is a challenge that we have to address.”
Dr Mangudya said a team from the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) was in Zimbabwe for consultations ahead of the institution’s annual
meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
“The IMF team arrived in the country on Thursday for review
meetings ahead of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bali, Indonesia,”
he said. “We expect to also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of
the meetings in Bali.”
Zimbabwe has failed to access lines of credit from the
multilateral institutions because of arrears in payments of previous loans and
also due to the illegal Western sanctions regime that bars multilateral lending
institutions with dealings with the United States from extending balance of
payment support to Zimbabwe.
Government has, however, been engaging with the Bretton Woods
institutions.
The arrears include $1,2 billion owed to the World Bank and
$600 million owed to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
President Mnangagwa has prioritised re-engagement with
foreign governments and multilateral institutions to assist in turning around
the fortunes of the economy that has been affected by years of isolation and
sanctions imposed by the West.
Zimbabwe intends to achieve middle income status by 2030,
with the President’s emphasis being on growing the economy and less on
politics. Herald
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