THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has increased foreign currency
allocation for basic and essential commodities to curtail threats of shortages.
Central bank governor Dr John Mangudya said the injection
of additional foreign currency comes on the back of marginal increases in
prices of goods and commodities in most shops in Harare, where fears of
shortages reminiscent of 2007 have swelled.
This has triggered panic buying and illegal monetary
transactions. However, Dr Mangudya dismissed suggestions that most basic
commodities are beginning to disappear from shop shelves.
He said the central bank is allocating an additional US$30
million a week for basic and essential commodities importation with an
additional US$15 million being spent on fuel and electricity imports.
He said the availability of foreign exchange has remained
stable due to growing imports.
Furthermore, the RBZ will this week introduce a US$600
million Nostro Stabilisation Facility from Cairo-headquartered African Export
Import Bank (Afreximbank) to start addressing the foreign currency shortage on
the market.
This nostro stabilisation facility is meant to deal with
ongoing delays in the processing of foreign payments by banks for the
procurement of productive imports as part of a raft of measures to stabilise
the economy.
The facility will cover the foreign currency gap that
widened after closure of the 2017 tobacco marketing season.
RBZ expected foreign exchange receipts from platinum and
chrome to be treated in the same manner as gold, diamonds, tobacco and cotton
to ensure that the nostro stabilisation facility is supported by a continuous
stream of export receipts.
Another export incentive scheme worth $300 million is
expected to help the situation.
Last week, the RBZ chief was expected to sign a Memorandum
of Understanding with top Afreximbank officials who were in the country on
official business.
Responding to questions from The Sunday Mail, Dr Mangudya
said: “We are making supplementary allocations of US$30 million on a weekly
basis for basic and essential imports.
“Specifically, fuel is getting US$10 million per week, US$4
million per week for cooking oil raw materials, US$5 million towards
electricity and around US$2 million for pharmaceuticals.
“Nothing material has changed in the availability of
foreign currency. To the contrary, exports have gone up.”
Motorists queue to refuel along Samora Machel Avenue in
Harare’s Eastlea suburb yesterday with some filling up drums and containers for
stocking. Fake social media messages have been spreading falsehoods of an
impending shortage of fuel and basic commodities. – Picture: Believe Nyakudjara
In a statement earlier, the RBZ also contested social media
reports insinuating that Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick
Chinamasa had ordered the printing of more bond notes in order to chase the US
dollar in illegal transactions on the streets.
“The intention of social media (abusers) is to confuse the
market through instilling fear in people.
“Zimbabweans should refuse to be hoodwinked by fake social
media statements designed to increase premiums on the parallel markets by
misguided rent seekers.”
Dr Mangudya assured the nation that: “There are no
shortages of basic commodities.
“On the contrary, foreign exchange currently being
allocated for basic and essential commodities has been increased to ensure that
shortages of commodities do not occur within the economy.
“In addition, the Minister of Finance and Economic
Development did not print bond notes to buy US dollars from the streets.
“Such malicious statements are counter-productive and are
meant to sabotage the economy that is on the rebound on account of the good
agricultural outturn, strong performance of the mining sector and the recovery
of the manufacturing sector.”
On the nostro stabilisation facility, Dr Mangudya said:
“The board of directors of Afreximbank had its board meetings in Harare from 21
to 23 September 2017. We expect to sign the MoU on the disbursement of the
US$600 million nostro stabilisation facility today (yesterday).
“Government is also handing over a property that has been
donated to Afreximbank.”
There has been a noticeable increase in the prices of some
commodities over the last few weeks in many retail shops with players in the
sector attributing the surge to foreign currency shortages.
During the past few months, the greenback has been scarce
on formal financial avenues, but accessible on the informal market where it is
being sold for a premium.
This has resulted in illegal currency dealers asking for at
least $135 in bond notes for one to access US$100.
Electronic money transfers for the highest United States
denomination are being pegged at about $150.
Suggestions are that the cost of importing some goods or
raw materials has increased due to foreign currency shortages, subsequently
pushing the costs of production and prices up.
Sunday Mail
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