THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has cornered illegal money
changers and will continue to come up with measures to deal with the rampant
illicit trade.
Over the past weeks, the Central Bank has come up with a
number of measures to deal with illegal money dealers who have been fuelling
the parallel market rates of foreign currency. The bank’s Financial
Intelligence Unit (FIU) recently directed all banks to review downwards Zipit
transaction limits to $20 000 a day from $100 000 following abuse of the
facility by illegal foreign currency dealers. This was a few weeks after the
Apex bank also directed mobile money service providers to freeze accounts
belonging to agents with transaction activity above $100 000.
On Thursday the Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit
(FIU) issued a statement outlining that bank account holders would be allowed
to make not more than two interbank transactions per day.
RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya told Sunday Business on
Friday that the bank could not sit and watch dealers dragging the country into
chaos. He said for the economy to move forward, illegal money changers must be
stopped in their tracks and citizens have to exercise discipline.
Dr Mangudya was clear that while the RBZ was doing all it
can to address the runaway black market, it was solely the responsibility of
every citizen to shun illegal money changers.
“What is lacking is self-discipline. We need to make sure
we produce for the economy so that we become self-sufficient. The behaviour of
selling money is not conducive for economic growth. There is no economy that
has grown by selling money to get money. Let us have national interest. We have
to be patriotic and develop national ethos that is good for the economy,” he
said.
Dr Mangudya also warned that those who post pictures of
bank notes on social media risk being arrested. He said such foolhardy and
unpatriotic tendencies are retrogressive and unlawful.
“It is illegal to show off cash on social media. Members of
the public risk being arrested,” he warned.
The Central Bank boss is on record as saying the only way
the country can address the anomaly in the exchange rate is for citizens to
desist from speculative tendencies.
“These problems are caused by behavioural issues.
Zimbabweans have become very speculative in nature. As a move to block the
black market, the RBZ has instituted new measures that are to put a blow on the
black market.”
In the past two weeks, the monetary trading regime in the
country has somewhat spiralled to record highs. Illegal money changers have
fixed foreign exchange trade against the local currency at runaway rates each
day. As of Friday, black market rates for the local currency were pegged as
high as 1:60 to the United States dollar, while the official bank rate stands
at 1: 25.
Internal bank transfers are popular within the black market
racketeers as money changers resort to draw off huge sums of money. Scheming
money traders who have bank accounts persuade members of the public to accept
trading at inflated rates in the parallel exchange rate. Bank accounts which
are now conduits of illegal forex trade will be strictly monitored, the RBZ has
said.
“Each bank customer shall make no more than two
transactions per day by way of internal transfer, regardless of the values
involved,” said RBZ.
The RBZ stated that while there would be no restrictions
Real Time Gross Settlements (RTGS) transfers, banks must remain on guard to
monitor accounts. On 26 May, the Central Bank implemented tight measures that
put paid illegal dealing by mobile money traders on the EcoCash platform.
“We have noted a trend where entities are using their bank
accounts to buy foreign currency using a network of runners, some of whom have
been advertising their services on social media. These illicit transactions
manifest in the form of multiple payments from one account to beneficiaries who
hold accounts in the same bank.”
The selling of cash done by illegal money changers is known
to many as “burning” and is not a new phenomenon on the economy. The “burning money”
practice went viral in the hyper inflationary period between 2007 and 2008. It
involves the trading of hard cash on the black market for a premium. Sunday News
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