Business Reporter
INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister, Mangaliso Ndlovu has shot down skeptics underscoring that the country’s business community must never underestimate the huge benefits they are set to derive from a dedolarised economy.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has since tabled made indications to go full scale dedolarisation on the back of considerations on finding the best way forward to trim the costs of exports in a dollarised economy.
The announcement has since drawn mixed reactions from industry with players in sectors such as property already demanding a clear framework on how the measures will be implemented .Against the background, the Bretton Woods Institution, International Monetary Fund recently added its voice on the matter by calling on the authorities to clarify the plans.
Speaking on the sidelines of a media tour organized by the Transport and Infrastructure Development Ministry in Plumtree Friday, Ndlovu shot down the fears being expressed by skeptics, insisting that the plans will benefit industry.
“They are justified to be skeptical because of where we are coming from. But talk to them today. Talk to the business people today.They will tell you that for the first time they’ve kept the ZWG for no less than three months because they’ve seen its stability. We have a responsibility as a government to stabilize the ZWG,” he said.
He said once it is stable, those concerns will go as he insisted that business will never be competitive as long as the economy remains stuck with the US dollar.
“So when we talk about this gradual move, we have them in mind. It’s not a reckless move . We know that Zimbabwe has a small population of 16 million which is too small.There is a whole 400 million in SADC, there is Comesa, there is African Continental Free Trade Area with 1.3 billion people . For us to be able to target those, we have to use our own currency. That’s what we are targeting,” he said.
Ndlovu added that the migration will be undertaken with due considerations and safeguards as he insisted the country can’t do away with dedollarisation.
