Forex Exchange Retention 'Glorified Robbery' - Biti

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti said that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) decision to retain a portion of foreign currency receipts is illegal as it violates the country’s Constitution.

Speaking at a Financial Gazette Executive Dialogue last Friday, Biti said:

They should allow exporters to keep their money because it is unconstitutional for the central bank to take over people’s export earnings unaccountable to parliament.

All revenue collected in Zimbabwe goes to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and is distributed by parliament in terms of Section 305 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

… You cannot pretend to liberalise then appropriate and nationalise export earnings.

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They are appropriating retentions at 1:1 with excess being bought at 2:5 after the 30-day period highlighted in the MPS. Despite this, they are silent on the expropriation rate, so it is a fraud.

The foreign exchange retention policy introduced by the RBZ allows the government to get foreign currency necessary for the importation of critical commodities such as fuel, medicine and cooking oil and electricity among other things.

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