Story by Owen Mandovha, Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe says the Monetary Policy Statement presented last month acts as a balancing tool to stabilise the exchange rate while establishing a strong foundation for the country’s de-dollarisation roadmap.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance summoned the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr John Mushayavanhu this Monday to interrogate him on whether the policy blueprint is adequate to address some challenges affecting business.
Dr Mushayavanhu mentioned in his remarks that the Monetary Policy Statement enhances the stability of the ZiG currency and the economy.
He said, “We are doing everything in accordance to stabilise the ZIG currency. Looking at the de-dollarisation roadmap, the main important thing is that the 2030 deadline to dissolve multi-currency is what we are working with, whereby we will have zero transactions in foreign currency.
“We are supporting the productive sector through the targeted finance facility however, there has been calls to also support the retail sector upon learning of challenges affecting them. Coming to the bank policy rate, we are calculating the month-on-month inflation but waiting to calculate the year-on-year inflation until May,”
Budget and Finance Parliament Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Honourable Energy Mutodi said it was imperative for the Governor to account for issues affecting the economy from a monetary policy perspective.
“This was important so that we can see how the MPS spoke to ameliorate the pressing challenges affecting the economy which include the issue of de-dollarisation, but most importantly how we can save the businesses that are facing challenges.”
Dr Mushayavanhu noted that the bank remains cautious in moderating liquidity in the market, as a way of ensuring the stability of the local currency.
