The announcement by the government that Civil Servants and Pensioners will get allowances in US Dollars has put the private sector in a difficult position. Businesses had been operating to a large degree on the local currency. The money that civil servants are receiving may not be in physical currency, but the fact that its foreign currency changes the landscape.
The urgency of the decision is something that can be understood. Civil servants were long overdue an increment. The US$75 they are getting (or are they?) does not go far enough of course but perhaps it’s a start (again if it really comes).
The government is the largest employer in Zimbabwe and decisions like this impact players in other sectors.
In a report by The Chronicle, the president of the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) Dr. Israel Murefu commended the decision made by the government but said,
Each organisation will do what is feasible within its own operations. For example, if an entity is earning their revenue in foreign currency, we have no problem if they also pay their employees in forex, but if they are generating revenue in local currency it will be a problem because there is no market where you can buy forex to pay employees.
It is inevitable that the price of goods and services will go up. Whenever Civil servants get an increment it is followed by a jump in prices as demand increases. This will affect those in the private sector whether they get their salary in foreign or local currency.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that the private sector especially companies that export could employ the same measure that the government has laid out. If so, banks are in for a stampede of people requesting to open NOSTRO accounts.
One response
Pathetic. We don’t have the economy unless we totally go back to usd. Where do you expect NPO’S to get USD from? Clueless.