Published by the government of Zimbabwe
9 May 2008
Harare — THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has warned banks that are deliberately delaying the processing of customer Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payments that they face immediate closure while urging the public to use formal systems in their foreign currency trading, saying these provide a safe, convenient, transparent and reliable platform.
In a statement to ZBC News yesterday, RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono said some banks were delaying RTGS payments to conceal their mismanagement of depositors' funds.
He said branches that failed to transmit funds by the end of the trading day as per customers' instructions would be closed instantly. Dr Gono also warned banks that were barring depositors from withdrawing the maximum $5 billion daily limit as stipulated by the central bank that they faced a similar fate. No bank, he said, should restrict depositors from accessing their money since the central bank had enough cash to meet the requirements. The governor also urged members of the public and the business community whose RTGS payments were not transferred in time to report the offending banks to the central bank as such practices were illegal. Dr Gono further warned the public to exercise caution in their foreign currency dealings because the upsurge in foreign exchange activity might attract people with criminal intent.
He said the public should be wary of a possible influx of counterfeit foreign currency notes into the market. In his 2008 First Quarter Monetary Policy Statement announced last week, Dr Gono liberalised foreign currency dealings, authorising banks, money transfer agencies, foreign exchange purchasing centres and Homelink centres to buy hard currencies on a willing seller-willing buyer basis. "In addition to systems already in place, the central bank has also put in place stringent measures to ensure that all institutions licensed to purchase foreign currency from the public have the requisite risk management structures and equipment to detect counterfeit notes," Dr Gono said. He said the new measures, which were aimed at enhancing the country's capacity to generate foreign currency, were already having a positive impact as traders were shifting from the illegal parallel market in favour of the formal banking system. Banks are confident that up to 90 percent of the hard currency presently being traded on the streets will soon find its way into the formal channels. The parallel market has this week lagging behind the formal market. The liberalisation measure has also been applauded by
the business community as a positive move that will enhance foreign currency availability and capacity utilisation in the medium to long term while dealing a blow to the illegal market operations. At a meeting aimed at reviewing the pros and cons of the monetary policy, private sector representatives commended the re-introduction of the willing buyer-willing seller arrangement in the foreign exchange market. Harare Chamber of Commerce chairman Mr Oswell Binha said the measure would in the medium to long term address illegal market rates and bring stability in the economy.
Participants at the meeting hailed the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, however, calling on the all key economic stakeholders not to subvert the arrangement by engaging in parallel activities. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries also praised the move, saying it would go a long way in resuscitating production in industries, improve capacity utilisation and overall availability of goods in the economy.
Members of the public were urged to utilise the facility fully in order to address inflation in the long term. Meanwhile, the inter-bank rate continues to firm with five banks buying the US$ at $200 million with economic analysts predicting an equilibrium to be arrived as soon as all the economic fundamentals stabilise.
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