Mnangagwa goes after banks, companies manipulating exchange rates

Business Reporter

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa  has vowed to go after banks and companies manipulating foreign currency exchange rates amid plans to cancel their licences.

Addressing thousands of party supporters in Epworth over the weekend the head of state said government had uncovered the culprits behind the currency sabotage that has seen the local currency losing value on the parallel market.

“We have a challenge in our economy, especially around prices and exchange rates. We are working out a solution, we are now closing in on companies that are behind what we have been witnessing lately,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said there is a third-hand pulling strings behind the scenes, to the detriment of the local economy.

“These economic players are not acting alone, they are being sent by foreign countries hostile to Zimbabwe to weaken our local currency. So we are devising methods to deal with them, we will close some big companies and banks. These will be announced in due course,” said President Mnangagwa.

The past few weeks have seen the Zimbabwe dollar losing much value on the parallel foreign currency market while prices of most goods and services have been going up significantly without justification.

This threatens to undo the economic gains made over the past few years. The economy is expected to grow by 5,5 percent this year.