PARALLEL market activities have resurfaced in the central business district of Harare in clear violation of Covid-19 precautionary measures with the culprits carrying out their operations outside supermarkets and diaspora remittance points.
The sprouting of illegal foreign currency activities is a major source of worry to the general public as this is eroding confidence in the market.
Their financial actions are largely driven by speculation and personal gain at the expense of national interest.
A survey by ZBC News revealed that one United States Dollar is going for sixty Zimbabwean dollars on the parallel market representing a huge premium of thirty- five dollars against the official rate of twenty-five dollars.
The situation has also played into the hands of business entities who are indexing their prices against the parallel market rate putting more financial strain on the generality of Zimbabweans.
This comes at a time when the speculative behavior of these money changers was this week condemned by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, and Economic Development after a presentation by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr. John Mangudya who expressed concern over the unscrupulous behavior obtaining in the parallel market.
The committee urged the central bank to continue with its hard stance on all platforms that are being used by these unscrupulous entrepreneurs such as mobile money agent lines which are being abused for illegal activities.
The general expectations of the public are for financial authorities to come up with sustainable ways of combating this cancer that is threatening government efforts to turn around the fortunes of the economy. – ZBC
