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Midlands Bureau
GOVERNMENT should scale-up the fight against corruption and restore discipline in the market to enhance financial stability and boost investor confidence, Business Economic Empowerment Forum (BEEF) president Mr Solomon Matsa has said.

He commended President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has declared a war against graft, for moving swiftly to promulgate new regulations that deal with illegal money changers who are now liable for a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

The new Statutory Instrument 246 of 2018 penalises illegal foreign currency trading under the Presidential Powers (Temporary measures) Amendment of Crime Act and Exchange Control Act regulations 2018.

The new law will run for six months and the illegal money traders who now fear being jailed, have vanished from the streets in most towns and cities.

“I want to thank the President who is a listening leader for taking the necessary steps towards controlling illegal money traders. They are the ones behind all the price madness that the country has witnessed during the past month or so,” said Mr Matsa.

He said the price madness cannot be controlled as long as there are people who sell money on the black market.

“It is not easy to control price madness when these people are trading on the streets and the move by President Mnangagwa will see the prices going down. There are a few people who control prices and they must be arrested,” said Mr Matsa.

Recently four senior RBZ executives were suspended on allegations of illegal money deals and the case is being investigated.

The BEEF leader said weeding out corruption would go a long way in unlocking foreign direct investment and stabilising exchange rates.

Mr Matsa, a businessman with interests in transport, hospitality and gold, said Zimbabweans should also change their mind-set if the economic turn around is to succeed.

“Zimbabweans should play their part in turning around the economy as opposed to just wait and blame the Government. We should have a positive mind-set and believe that what we want to achieve is possible before we blame the leadership. We should come up with solutions to challenges facing the country,” he said.