By Evans Dakwa
“Anyone who wants to pay their fare using ZiG must show me where I can use it first, or better still go and buy roasted maize with the ZiG, if they accept it, then I will gladly accept it too, why do commuters want to start with me.”
This was a conversation Ziyah News Network had with one commuter omnibus operator in the Harare capturing the mood in the capital in as far the acceptance of ZiG is concerned, wait and see.
While big retailers have been accepting the new currency, the same cannot be said in the transport sector, small retailers popularly known as tuckshops and fresh vegetable buzzing market of Mbare Musika, the hub of small enterprises.
Commuters have been the hardest hit as their fares have been rounded off to the next whole number rendering urban transportation very expensive, short routes like Harare CBD Parirenyatwa are going for a dollar, a 100% increase from the usual fare.
The hesitancy in the market probably explains why Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube issued a press statement trying to reassure the transacting public that the Government has put in place mechanism to shore up the ZiG.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president, Denford Mutashu whose sector is crucial to the acceptance of the new currency said the convertibility of the ZiG in the market would be key to driving its acceptance across the economy.
“The manufacturers’ plight regarding access to forex is realistic, some of them are sitting on as much as ZiG 180 million, which could not be used to secure the required foreign currency suppliers of raw materials need,” he said.
“This whole matter rest with the Reserve Bank and the financial service sector, there has got to be a way to capacitate banks, lubricate banks or oil banks so that they have got sufficient foreign currency for supporting the productive sector transactions,” added Mutashu.