Police today rounded up money changers in Bulawayo following the arrest of 65 others in Harare yesterday for allegedly violating Zimbabwe’s finance regulations.
They were allegedly engaged in selling the new Zimbabwe Gold currency in the black market which is now trading at 20 for one US dollar. The official rate is US$1 to 13.2889 ZiG.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), the accused violated some provisions of the Exchange Control Act and Exchange Control Regulations.
In a statement, the NPAZ said, "The accused persons, some of whom were found in possession of point of sale (POS) machines and various credit and debit cards, were apprehended at various sites and points across Harare."
They were on Monday remanded in custody by a local magistrate.
Police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest of the suspects but could not give further details.
Zimbabwean authorities claim that some money changers are subverting the currency with the intention of fetching huge financial benefits from depreciating the Zimbabwe Gold currency, which was introduced recently by central bank governor John Mushayavanhu.
Zimbabwe has phased out the bond and is allowing the use of other foreign currencies, including the US dollar, to be used together with the ZiG.
For perspective, we reached Zanu PF legislator and businessman Joseph Tshuma, who said all those illegally selling the Zimbabwe Gold currency should be arrested in order to stop the further depreciation of the local currency.
But Stevenson Dlamini, an economist based at the National University of Science and Technology, said the arrest of money changers won’t stop the depreciation of the Zimbabwe Gold currency.