The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the monetary reforms which were recently announced by both the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The reforms were introduced through February 20 Monetary Policy Statement and SI 142 of 2019 in an endeavour to address economic distortions that have restrained macroeconomic stability.
Through SI 142 of 2019, Government outlawed the use of any foreign currency in local transactions. Pursuant to the introduction of the SI, the RBZ introduced a raft of measures which are meant to strengthen the local currency.
Commenting on the changes, IMF representative to Zimbabwe, Mr Patrick Imam, told Business Weekly in an interview that the latest measures are welcome. He said:
We welcome the reforms announced in the February 20 Monetary Policy Statement and June 24 press release, which seek to address economic distortions that have impaired macroeconomic stability.
He, however, noted that a lot still needs to be done so as to preserve financial stability. Imam added:
We encourage the authorities to continue ongoing efforts to implement a coherent monetary policy framework to pursue policies that preserve financial stability and ensure the orderly operation of payment systems and stop monetary financing of fiscal deficits to stabilise inflation and the exchange rate.
As part of this effort, more transparency in monthly data statistics on the execution of the budget ,but especially on the evolution of money and credit, will be important.
Imam also said that Zimbabwe’s economic policies under the TSP constitute a comprehensive stabilisation and structural reform programme to address Zimbabwe’s deep macroeconomic imbalances.
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