Zimbabwe’s central bank has pledged to ramp up efforts to combat currency manipulation as the ZiG faces a widening gap between its official and parallel market exchange rates, Governor John Mushayavanhu told Bloomberg.
The ZiG is trading at 13.94 per US dollar on the official market, but on the parallel market, it is quoted between 16 and 26, according to ZimPriceCheck.com.
The discrepancy is due to "some unscrupulous traders and individuals allegedly quoting exorbitant implied exchange rates when selling goods and services in ZiG," the governor said. Mushayavanhu stressed that parallel market rates "should not be taken as a reflection of the true value of the exchange rate."
The central bank has announced plans to intensify enforcement of foreign exchange regulations and closely monitor developments in the parallel market.
"[The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the financial intelligence unit will] double their efforts toward enforcement of the country’s foreign exchange and currency regulations," said Mushayavanhu.
The weakening of the ZiG coincides with a rising demand for US dollars. The governor attributed this to speculation stemming from "the country’s unfortunate past episodes with local currencies" but reaffirmed the central bank's commitment to restoring credibility.
Zimbabwe’s central bank also plans to intervene in the foreign exchange market with tighter monetary policies and strategic injections of dollars to stabilize the currency while maintaining a current account surplus and benefiting from increased foreign currency receipts, driven by gold and diaspora remittances.