HARARE – Industry bodies, not the government, were behind the widely-quoted 2030 target for ending dollarisation and returning Zimbabwe to exclusive use of a local currency, treasury secretary George Guvamatanga said on Monday. Speaking at a post-budget conference in Harare, Gumatanga distanced the government from the 2030 date, revealing that it was inserted into the relevant statutory instrument (SI) at the insistence of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI). “The 2030 date was never a government date,” Gumatanga said.
“I remember I worked on the SI and I argued that let’s not put a closing date on this. There was strong pushback from CZI who said we want a date, and we put a date.” He said ongoing discussions with industry had since resulted in a shift in position. “We have had robust conversations now, and CZI is saying maybe let’s remove the date,” he added.
Gumatanga further disclosed that the statutory instrument (SI) itself was largely the work of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) and CZI. They wrote the SI, it’s their lawyers who wrote the SI. CZI came with the date, BAZ came with the SI and we simply published it.” Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, who was also present, backed the proposal to scrap the deadline altogether. Exchange rate stability and clarity on the country’s long-term currency framework remain key concerns for ordinary citizens and, more critically, for investors wary of repeating past losses caused by sharp currency shifts.
