News / National
MPs echo US-dollar salary demands
19 Feb 2022 at 18:34hrs | Views
LEGISLATORS have joined the call for adoption of United States dollar salaries in a vote of no confidence in the local currency, a development government said was
disheartening.
Public and private sector workers are demanding US dollar-denominated salaries as the local currency continues to lose value, sparking a wave of price increases.
Leader of government business in the House, Ziyambi Ziyambi, told Parliament that he was so "disheartened" that MPs had joined the long list of citizens demanding dollarisation.
"I must say that the most disheartening is when honourable members have no confidence in their currency," Ziyambi, who is also the Justice and Legal Parliamentary Affairs minister, said.
"The biggest problem that we have in this country is that of confidence. People are always speculating what the currency will be at a particular day and try to peg their prices or whatever, using a speculative rate," he said.
"Firstly, I want to indicate that we now have a Zimbabwe dollar; we no longer have RTGS currency, so it is Zimbabwe dollar. What we are doing, which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Finance minister have been working on is to ensure that firstly, we stabilise our own currency," Ziyambi said.
Government has been insisting on the use of the Zimdollar although some businesses now shun the local currency and offer discounts for US dollar purchases.
disheartening.
Public and private sector workers are demanding US dollar-denominated salaries as the local currency continues to lose value, sparking a wave of price increases.
Leader of government business in the House, Ziyambi Ziyambi, told Parliament that he was so "disheartened" that MPs had joined the long list of citizens demanding dollarisation.
"I must say that the most disheartening is when honourable members have no confidence in their currency," Ziyambi, who is also the Justice and Legal Parliamentary Affairs minister, said.
"The biggest problem that we have in this country is that of confidence. People are always speculating what the currency will be at a particular day and try to peg their prices or whatever, using a speculative rate," he said.
"Firstly, I want to indicate that we now have a Zimbabwe dollar; we no longer have RTGS currency, so it is Zimbabwe dollar. What we are doing, which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Finance minister have been working on is to ensure that firstly, we stabilise our own currency," Ziyambi said.
Government has been insisting on the use of the Zimdollar although some businesses now shun the local currency and offer discounts for US dollar purchases.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
