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PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabweans to embrace and defend the new currency. Addressing the 37th Session of the Zanu-PF Politiburo in Harare on Thursday, President Mnangagwa said sustainable economic development can only be achieved through the use of local currency which can stimulate economic growth and guarantee stability. 

Last week Government introduced a new currency (ZiG) which is backed by gold and other precious minerals. President Mnangagwa said Politburo members and other senior party members should take the lead in educating people on the transformational policies and also help instil confidence in the new currency. 

It has to be appreciated that the de-dollarisation is a process and as such there is a need for discipline in the marketplace. 

President Mnangagwa said programmes and activities led by the private sector, the Church and other community-based organisations to raise awareness on the importance of embracing and defending the new currency against machinations of the country’s detractors, must be supported. 

Government has announced that the country will continue with the multi-currency system until 2030 and it is hoped that during the period an enabling economic environment to phase out the multi-currency system will be created. The business community has already said it fully supports the new currency and it is our hope that the rampant indiscipline which characterised the marketplace before the introduction of the new currency, is now a thing of the past.  

Businesses were adjusting prices daily based on the black market exchange rates despite Government warnings of severe consequences for such conduct. Some businesses even had the audacity of selling some products exclusively in forex despite Government’s repeated warnings that such conduct was illegal. 

Consumers that had no forex were therefore being denied the right to buy some products which were being sold exclusively in forex. Government should ensure that such illegal and unethical conduct is not repeated.  

Now that the country has a stable currency (ZiG), there is no need for forward pricing and adjusting prices daily as was the case in the past. Businesses should ensure basic commodities remain affordable to the majority of consumers. We want to once again implore businesses to uphold ethics and ensure that there is discipline in the marketplace.