By Ziyah News Business Reporter
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mushayavanhu has reiterated the Apex Bank’s commitment to keeping in check its money supply growth in the market to curb inflation and currency depreciation as a result of printing of money.
Dr John Mushayavanhu made the assertion in the Monetary Policy Statement released last work by the RBZ.
“The Reserve Bank remains strongly committed to ‘walking the talk’ of prudent money supply management and ensuring that the monetary policy stance is well-calibrated and engenders the desirable conditions of currency and exchange rate stability in the economy, Dr John Mushayavanhu.
The Apex Bank boss said it is that discipline and adherence to policy by the RBZ which has kept the economy growth target within the positive margins and with the margins of the expected annual inflation.
“As a result of adherence to the key policy imperatives, the economy is envisaged to realise the expected annualised inflation path of less than 5% by year-end.
The Reserve Bank also said it will continue to use a hybrid monetary anchor with the exchange rate as an intermediate target.
“To sustain stability, the Reserve Bank will ensure that reserve money remains under check and only increases in line with increases in reserve assets that back it.”
Turning to the contentious issue of bank charges which has seen the transacting public at loggerheads with banks, the Central Bank urged banks to align with the directive to stop charging monthly bank maintenance or service charges for individual bank accounts with a conservative daily balance of US$100 and below or its equivalent in ZiG for a period of up to 30 days.
“The Reserve Bank is calling on the banks that are yet to align their systems to do so immediately. 55. The exemption for monthly bank maintenance or service charges for accounts with a conservative daily balance of US$100 or below shall be extended to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with effect from 1 September 2024.”
The Monetary policy is coming against the backdrop of a slide in the value of the ZiG against the US$ on the parallel market trading around the 22 ZiG to 1 US$.