RBZ Governor’s Stance on Fuel Payment in ZiG Currency Compromised as he Reportedly Owns Fuel Company
He syas he will not force service stations to sell fuel in ZiG
As the ZiG currency debate rages on, the new Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mushayavanhu has expressed his decision not to force service stations to accept payment in the new currency.
However, this has been seen as hedging his interests as he reportedly owns a fuel company.
Dr Mushayavanhu said that fuel stations would not be forced to use the local currency until the Zimbabweans reach a 50 percent usage of ZiG. He implied that imposing ZiG acceptance on fuel stations prematurely could lead to long queues and other operational challenges.
“When we get to 50:50 people will be indifferent as to which currency they are using and then when we get to 2030 we don’t even have to announce it. People will be using their ZiG and in the process, as we travel along that path that’s when we will say maybe fuel can also be included in that commodity that can be sold in ZiG. We don’t want fuel ques. Things are working so let it be,” he emphasised.
Tinashe Nyenyedzi, an entrepreneur with an interest in Zimbabwean economics, claims that Governor Mushayavanhu has vested interests in the fuel sector, hence his position on use of local currency for fuel purchase.
Writing on X, he said;
John 2 is in conflict of interest because (a) as governor he has claimed anyone who wants forex can simply walk in a bank and pay the going price- this claim can only fly if tested. The testing cannot have blanket exemptions like fuel otherwise the claim itself is not true. And (b) he owns a fuel company- the largest by volumes and his protection of the fuel industry is seen as self interest. The governor “ndiye abika” ZiG and made all sorts of claims. Nobody forced him to make these claims, he did so freely but goes ahead and protects the industry in which he has an interest. By not addressing this conflict the governor loses the trust and confidence.
According to TechZim, failure to control the demand for the ZiG may result in the proliferation of the black market as people scramble for the US dollar.
Fuel, medicines and a lot of other services are sold exclusively in USD. This means those who earn ZiG will want to convert it to ZiG. The formal market has failed miserably to fulfil this need over the years. That’s not going to suddenly change because the government cleverly slashed zeroes from the ZWL and called it the ZiG with long-winded explanations about how it is backed with gold.
