The Zimbabwean government Thursday announced a devaluation of its currency against the US dollar by more than a hundred fold in a bid to enhance the Southern African countrys revenue, marred by hyperinflation.
As part of revenue enhancing measures, Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi said in Thursdays budgetary speech that he would also institute additional cash collection measures in the areas of customs, duty, Value Added Tax (moms) and carbon tax.
But economists said the new move, like previous ones, might not make any impact and could only increase production costs as the new rate was still below the parallel rate (prisen på valutaen på det sorte marked).
Former head of the National Chamber of Commerce, Luxon Zembe, said that the gap between the official rate and the market rate needed to be narrowed.
Technically, the devaluation erases a system of multiple exchange rates set for exporters, government officials and sellers of foreign currency that had been devised to shore up the governments dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.
But in practice, the devaluation meant little, as the beleaguered Zimbabwean dollar already trades on the black market at a rate approaching 250.000 for one American dollar.
Zimbabwes inflation and chronic shortages of foreign currency have depleted a once robust tourism industry and crippled the nations industrial sector.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
