Biti Urges Firms To Take RBZ To Court Over Export Retention Scheme

Tendai Biti has said that he hopes big firms such as Zimplats will take Government over the export retention scheme.

He said the export retention scheme is unconstitutional as it violates Section 305 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. He said Government has not liberalised the economy since it has retained control of foreign currency. Said Biti:

Dishonesty number two is that there are still maintaining the export retention scheme. That means that huge exporters like Zimplats, the mining houses, tobacco farmers they still have their foreign currency being taken by the Government. But surely if you have liberalised then you must allow those companies to keep their foreign currency so that the excess will go on the auction market so that people can buy including the Government. But you cannot retain control and then at the same time pretend that you have liberalised. You have not liberalised. Once you liberalise, liberalise both the supply and the demand. So you can’t liberalise demand-auction but supply-the exporters; you are taking their money, you are nationalising their money. And I hope that the big companies the Zimplats of this world will for the first time have the courage to go to their lawyers and approach the High Court, approach the Constitutional Court because this abnormality should not continue. As I have said before the RBZ’s retention of export earnings is unconstitutional because any money collected should go to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, should go to Parliament for accountability. Therefore Parliament should distribute it in the budget in terms of Section 305 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. So the Constitution is being broken.