HARARE – Government has announced plans to suspend or withdraw trading licences of a given list of 17 pharmaceutical companies recently tagged by the reserve bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit for pegging prices using black market foreign currency rates in violation of treasury’s exchange control directives.
In a Tuesday statement, the Finance Ministry listed 17 firms targeted for the punitive measures.
The companies operate in Kadoma, Chegutu, Kwekwe, Gweru, Rusape and Mutare.
Treasury said the pharmacies were found to have been using the black market exchange rate of between ZWL8,500 and ZWL11,000 against the US dollar.
As of Tuesday, the official exchange rate stood at ZWL4,998 against a single unit of the US dollar.
“Government notes with concern that some market players continue to exhibit highly destabilising forward pricing and speculation in outright violation of exchange control directives as well as standing government policy guidelines with respect to pricing and the use of domestic currency.
“This practice is particularly rampant but is certainly not limited to the pharmaceutical sector.
“Ongoing investigations by the Financial Intelligence Unit have revealed that some pharmacies are using parallel market exchange rates ranging from between ZWL8,500 to ZWL11,000 against the USD, in complete violation of government policy and country’s anti-money laundering regulations.”
Treasury said “government has instituted measures that will result in the suspension and or cancellation of the trading licences” of the mentioned pharmacies.
Zimbabweans have been largely resentful of the local currency after savings and wages have been decimated by their country’s volatile unit.
Firms and the transacting public have placed their preferences on the US dollar to preserve the value of their investments and savings.
Government has insisted the local currency will not be scrapped amid continued demands by workers’ unions and the opposition to remove it from circulation.
However, government has been accused of duplicity after pegging some of its services in US dollars while maintaining Zimbabwean dollar wages for the public workforce.
Government and some quasi-government agencies have tried to follow suit but have been stopped from pegging services in foreign currency.
Treasury on Tuesday urged “the transacting public is encouraged to resist all forms of unfair pricing by retailers and to immediately report violations to the Financial Intelligence Unit.”
The pronouncement to suspend or withdraw licences from the marked companies follows President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s threat to put down entities he accused of lining up an elaborate plot to sabotage his administration through alleged price manipulation.
“Those who are hoarding and manipulating the economy I say to you, this is Zimbabwe and it’s for Zimbabweans,” Mnangagwa told followers at a weekend rally in Magunje.
“Either you are with us or against us. If you are with us we shall support you and give you the leeway to continue doing business. But if you are not with us, your business will start to shrink and continue shrinking until nothing is left.”
