RBZ governor says will not rush dealers to sell fuel in ZiG

HARARE – Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mushayavanhu says the apex bank will not stampede fuel dealers to start selling the petroleum product in ZiG currency.

Appearing before joint parliamentary portfolio committees on budget and industry, Mushayavanhu said deliberations on the range of commodities that could be purchased in ZiG were still underway.

“We are doing it gradually as we don’t want to rush to direct service station to pay USD,” he said.

Fuel remains a key product at the centre of driving the national economy.

Past attempts to force dealers to sell the product in local currency backfired as the commodity became scarce on the market to the detriment of commerce.

Perhaps drawing lessons from past experience, Mushayavanhu said the culture of using the local currency for purchases shall be fostered gradually as Zimbabweans gain confidence in the new method of exchange.

He added, “We start on taxes to be paid in ZiG, and include other commodities and people are going to be advised.

“We need to do our work gradually and we are going to reach that situation where fuel is going to be sold in ZiG.

“There are discussion definitely on fuel being sold in ZiG.”

Zimbabwe fuel suppliers were allowed to sell in foreign currency with only government company NOIC dispensing the valuable liquid in local currency.

Fuel is procured from outside the country using foreign currency.

The new gold backed ZiG was announced early April with bank notes expected to start circulating 30 April 2024.

It replaced the much-resented Real Time Gross Settlement Dollar (RTGS) and subsequently the Zimbabwe dollar, battered by brutal inflation which saw the controversial method of exchange lose about 80 of its value this year alone and had been trading at 28,720 to US$1 before the change.