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Thupeyo Muleya in Beitbridge
THE Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders’ Association (ZCBTA) has called on Treasury and relevant arms of Government to investigate illicit financial deals that have resulted in the prevailing cash crisis and urgently put measures to deal with it.

The organisation’s president, Dr Killer Zivhu, said the liquidity crisis in the country has seriously affected cross border traders and ordinary Zimbabweans.

He expressed shock that despite the cash crisis, border towns were flooded with millions of bond notes and other currencies, which were not circulating in the banking system.

Dr Zivhu said the new Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube and the Reserve Bank should implement urgent reforms to urgently deal with the currency issue.

“We are concerned about the situation whereby ordinary Zimbabweans countrywide are affected by the cash crisis and the fact that there is no money in the banking system yet the black market in border towns is well supplied,” said Dr Zivhu.

“It is common cause that money changers have been in existence for a very long time and these need to be incorporated into the fiscus. Government should encourage these people to form consortiums and open bureau de changes.

“Under such a set-up it (government) can be able to regulate exchange rates, rather than the current scenario where those with deep pockets are determining the rates willy-nilly. We are willing to work with central government and the Minister of Finance in addressing the cash crisis”.

Dr Zivhu said most economic activities were cross border related and that these have been strongly affected by the cash shortages.

He said in some cases children of cross-border traders were dropping out of school as a result of the financial strain.

Dr Zivhu said it was important for Government to review the duty regime and incentivise businesses.

“There should be an incentive for people to pay duty at affordable rates especially for those importing the products we don’t manufacture. Indications are that smuggling activities are rampant across our borders as people try to avoid paying excessive duty or they cannot acquire the requisite permits to import basics due to red tape,” he said.