On
Monday,
Zimbabwe
business
owners
pleaded
with
parliamentary
committees
to
ask
the
government
to
stop
arresting
moneychangers
and
re-open
the
bank
accounts
of
companies
accused
of
only
accepting
foreign
currency.
“This
is
an
inception
process
of
a
monetary
policy
shift,”
said
Sekai
Kuvarika,
the
chief
executive
officer
of
the
Confederation
of
Zimbabwe
Industries.
“So,
let’s
give
ourselves
time.
Let’s
give
the
market
time.
Let’s
give
the
policymakers
time
to
iterate
how
the
policy
is
going
to
work
in
our
markets.
But
we
definitely
do
not
support
that
we
accompany
our
policies
with
the
police.”
Last
week,
police
arrested
several
people
it
said
were
fueling
the
black
market
where
Zimbabwe’s
new
currency,
called
ZiG,
introduced
earlier
this
month,
is
trading
at
around
20
ZiG
for
one
U.S.
dollar.
The
government’s
official
exchange
rate
is
13
ZiG
to
a
dollar.
Owen
Mavengere,
with
the
Institute
of
Chartered
Accountants
of
Zimbabwe,
said
arresting
moneychangers
causes
panic.
“The
parallel
market
and
those
dealers
in
the
streets
are
a
symptom
of
the
problem,”
Mavengere
said.
“Sending
the
police
doesn’t
inspire
confidence.
So,
we
would
rather
have
a
situation
where
we
handle
the
root
cause.
And
use
a
soft
approach.”
He
said
the
government,
and
government-related
services,
should
be
the
first
to
move
from
the
dollar.
“There
must
be
deliberate
effort
to
make
sure
that
the
government
starts
to
take
the
ZiG,”
Mavengere
said.
The
government
said
for
now,
commodities
like
fuel
and
import
duties
will
still
be
paid
with
U.S.
dollars.
Parliament
had
summoned
Finance
Minister
Mthuli
Ncube
and
Reserve
Bank
of
Zimbabwe
Governor
John
Mushayavanhu
to
explain
how
the
ZiG
currency
rollout
would
work,
but
for
unspecified
reasons
neither
attended.
Last
week,
Mushayavanhu
announced
a
shift
in
the
central
bank’s
policies
—
vowing
to
restore
confidence
in
an
institution
that
has
failed
to
stabilize
the
nation’s
currency.
Ngonidzashe
Mudekunye,
chairman
of
Parliament’s
Industry
and
Commerce
Committee
said
he
was
happy
to
hear
from
business
owners
about
the
new
currency.
“We
want
to
get
feedback
regarding
the
new
policy,
whether
it’s
working,
whether
the
industry
has
new
suggestions
that
may
be
helpful,
to
ensure
that
this
new
monetary
policy
works,”
he
said.
“We
all
want
a
stable
currency.
Everyone
is
crying
for
it.
We
got
so
many
views;
the
market
wants
a
stable
currency.
This
is
what
we
are
going
to
suggest
to
them.”
The
next
stage
for
ZiG
—
introducing
physical
notes
and
coins
to
the
public
—
is
set
for
April
30.