Civil servants' $300 withdrawals this month

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says the $300 once-off withdrawal limit for civil servants will come into effect this month end in fulfillment of the Government's promise to its workers.

In view of cash challenges bedevilling the economy and the inconvenience of spending more days and working hours in queues, the apex bank had engaged the banking sector to allow Government workers to make once-off withdrawals.

The proposal was expected to come into effect in January but banks were not implementing it.

The RBZ Governor, Dr John Mangudya, told Business Chronicle the agreement would come into effect this month-end and civil servants representatives should approach his office if they encountered problems with the implementation of the once-off withdrawals.

"The $300 once-off withdrawal will be starting end of February," said Dr Mangudya.

"We will also continue to assess and help as much as possible with regards to civil servants salaries. We also continue to teach the banking public on the use of plastic money because after withdrawing the money, they will go and use it in a shop owned by a foreigner, which will contribute to externalisation."

Apex council chairperson Mrs Cecilia Alexander is on record as saying the move is welcome.

"The Apex Council believes that this welcome development together with other measures such as the use of plastic money will certainly see a decline in long queues as well as allow people to concentrate on their work."

The RBZ recently set the withdrawal limit at $100 per day and $300 per week following the injection of up to $80 million worth of bond notes into the market but most banks are still failing to comply with the directive.

Most banks have instead continued giving depositors $50 daily withdrawals as queues in banking halls persist. Depositors have complained that their income was being eroded by the exorbitant bank charges and transport costs.

Expectations are high that Dr Mangudya will tackle these challenges when he presents his monetary policy statement next Monday.