Be patient regarding currency reforms, industry urged




Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube looks on during the swearing in of new cabinet ministers at State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
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Government has urged industry to be patient regarding currency reforms as the process has to be implemented in an orderly process focused on a traceable fiscal management record.

Recent weeks have seen growing impatience by industry regards currency reforms with the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) proposing that the central bank should partially float the exchange rate while some manufacturers mulled charging goods in US dollars.

Speaking on his maiden trip to Kanyemba yesterday (Thursday) after accompanying Acting President Retired General Constantino Chiwenga and other senior government officials, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube urged industry to follow government’s lead on currency reforms.

“We urge industry not to take the lead in determining which currency the country is going to use. We as government we understand the issue, we understand them very deeply we have a process. Our process is we want to create a track record on the fiscal management front because at the moment we only have a fiscal policy but no monetary policy so we deal with the fiscal front we are doing that we have a track record, we will be running what we call primary surpluses which means that our expenditure well be remaining below income on a monthly basis except for interest payments for previous debts so with that track record in over a few months then we’ll be readier to deal with issues of currency, issue of pricing but private sector please musamhanye momira momirira isu then we can all have an orderly reform around the currency issue,” said the Finance Minister.

Specific projects that will drive development in Kanyemba are in line with vision 2030 and the transitional stabilisation programme which is taking a bottom up approach to development.

The area which provides a gateway into countries north of Zimbabwe is expected to acquire town status by 2023, while reducing travelling distance by 600 kilometres when compared with the Chirundu route.