News / National
Bulawayo residents welcome move on illegal forex dealers
13 Nov 2018 at 19:04hrs | Views
Ordinary citizens in Bulawayo have commended President Emmerson Mnangagwa for invoking the Presidential Powers Temporary Measures Amendment of Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act and the Exchange Control Act regulations 2018.
They said the move will curtail illicit financial flows that have seen the country being prejudiced of over US$5 billion in the past few years.
When the Bank of Jamaica pronounced the revised guidance notes on the detection and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing activities in 2007, it mandated financial institutions to expose acts of illicit financial deals, where failure by the institutions to comply with the directive attracted prosecution for the banks.
In today's open and global financial world characterised by a high mobility of funds and the rapid development of new payment technologies, the tools for laundering are many and some have been witnessed on our streets.
However, all this will soon be a thing of the past as government has taken a no nonsense approach to all those found liable of illegal financial dealings.
For residents in Bulawayo where the 'osiphatheleni' [illegal foreign currency dealers] were daring all and determining the market forces, the new regulation is good news.
"This is a great move by the government and we welcome it with excitement and enthusiasm that it will deal with these illegal foreign currency dealers. It is not normal to exchange money on the street, it must come to an end," one Bulawayo resident said.
"This is good. Even though we would sometimes exchange money on the street, it is not good, money must be exchanged on the bank not in a dingy corner. People have been robbed sometimes," another resident said.
"We welcome the move, at last the government has shown a bold stanza against the money changers who are making shops to increase prices. These people should be arrested," another said.
Invoking the presidential powers in clamping money laundering and crimes acts is not peculiar to Zimbabwe as research shows that countries that embarked on such tight regulations registered success in restoring normalcy and transparency in financial markets
They said the move will curtail illicit financial flows that have seen the country being prejudiced of over US$5 billion in the past few years.
When the Bank of Jamaica pronounced the revised guidance notes on the detection and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing activities in 2007, it mandated financial institutions to expose acts of illicit financial deals, where failure by the institutions to comply with the directive attracted prosecution for the banks.
In today's open and global financial world characterised by a high mobility of funds and the rapid development of new payment technologies, the tools for laundering are many and some have been witnessed on our streets.
However, all this will soon be a thing of the past as government has taken a no nonsense approach to all those found liable of illegal financial dealings.
For residents in Bulawayo where the 'osiphatheleni' [illegal foreign currency dealers] were daring all and determining the market forces, the new regulation is good news.
"This is a great move by the government and we welcome it with excitement and enthusiasm that it will deal with these illegal foreign currency dealers. It is not normal to exchange money on the street, it must come to an end," one Bulawayo resident said.
"This is good. Even though we would sometimes exchange money on the street, it is not good, money must be exchanged on the bank not in a dingy corner. People have been robbed sometimes," another resident said.
"We welcome the move, at last the government has shown a bold stanza against the money changers who are making shops to increase prices. These people should be arrested," another said.
Invoking the presidential powers in clamping money laundering and crimes acts is not peculiar to Zimbabwe as research shows that countries that embarked on such tight regulations registered success in restoring normalcy and transparency in financial markets
Source - zbc
