‘Abuse of stock exchange unacceptable’
THE abuse of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange by rogue business entities is largely contributing to currency volatility in the country, investment analyst and Zanu PF spokesperson Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa said yesterday.
Speaking last night during a virtual discussion in the Southern Africa Political Economy Series on the “difference between rhetoric and reality, a debate on the future of the Zimdollar, the soaring prices, rising inflation, and the economic situation in general”, Ambassador Mutsvangwa said supply and demand should be the determining factor of any functional economy.
“The biggest corruption in this country has come from the abuse of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange where some firms are taking hard currency from Zimbabwe and taking it to the West,” he said.
“In 2020, President Mnangagwa closed that loophole and for six months, the country had a stable economy. Between June 2020 to January 2021 our currency was stable.
“We cannot have a situation where a stock exchange is performing better than the economy of that country. If that happens in other countries, including the United States, it is simply closed.”
Ambassador Mutsvangwa said whether the country pushes for the adoption of any other currency or not, as long as there was the abuse of the stock exchange, the economy will remain volatile.
He said the country had the necessary resources to compete even at the global level, with investors flocking to invest among them a US$1 billion steel project in Mvuma.
In 2020, the Government banned Zimbabweans from legally transferring capital out of the country by buying dual-listed shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange for local currency and selling these for forex on other exchanges where the same shares are bought and sold.
Lead business analyst Chenai Mutambasere said apart from people wanting to push for dollarisation, the country should deal with other pertinent issues, including corruption and not being over-reliant on imports.
Other speakers included ex-Governor of the Zambian Reserve Bank and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe board member Caleb Fundanga, presenter Leon Africa, chief executive and founder Tinashe Murapata, moderator Janet Zhou and convener Ibbo Mandaza.-The Herald
