Mnangagwa extends US$ usage to 2030, dispels dedolarisation speculation
Business Reporter
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has ended months’ of speculation indicating the government’s intentions to dedolarise after extending the usage of the US$ as legal tender to the year 2030.
The predecessor policy directive under Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 was due to expire in 2025.
The development was already choking the business sector with several banking institutions having already ceased to extend US$ loans for the period extending post 2025.
Captains of Industry had also raised concerns over the difficulties experienced in crafting contracts beyond the initially set expiry date.
Speculation was also rife to the effect that government intends to do away with the US$ completely.
But in an order issued under Statutory Instrument 218 of 2023 Friday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa moved to clarify the government’s position on the tenure of US$ .
“His excellency the President, in terms of section 2 of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act hereby makes the following regulations-
“These regulations may be cited as the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Amendment of Exchange Control Act Regulations 2023.
“The provisions of the schedule, in so far as they expressly or impliedly permit the settlement of any transaction or the payment for goods and services in foreign currency, shall notwithstanding Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019, be valid until the 31st December 2030,” he said in the SI.
Market watchers have hailed the move highlighting that it will go a long way to buttress the gains of price and exchange rate stability already supported through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s numerous initiatives alongside other supporting interventions.
