Cash Crisis: Police Empowered to Seize Cash, Arrest Dealers

Harare – Police now possess powers to arrest cash traders – and seize any currency involved in a desperate bid to curtail ongoing cash shor...

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Harare – Police now possess powers to arrest cash traders – and seize any currency involved in a desperate bid to curtail ongoing cash shortages.

An Extraordinary Government Gazette, President Mugabe issued Statutory Instrument 122A of 2017 — Exchange Control (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (No 5) — to deal with widespread cash vending on the streets.

Basic commodity shortages and cash shortages continue to haunt the nation, while high-ranking officials and bankers have been fingered in fronting the illicit trade.

However, it remains to be seen how possible instances of corruption will be curtailed.

President Mugabe amended the Exchange Control Regulations of 1996, published in Statutory Instrument 109 of 1996, in particular section 2 of the principal regulations. The amendment was done in terms of Section 2 of the Exchange Control Act (Chapter 22:05).

Cash Dealers in Harare

According to (2e)(b), any person dealing in currency and is unable to produce to an authorised officer or police officer a valid licence, permit or other written authority permitting such dealing under the regulations, shall be deemed to have contravened any order or provisions of the Act or regulations.

The state has approved a raft of measures to arrest artificial shortages of basic commodities and the price hikes.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa attacked traders who prefer selling their commodities in United States dollar notes and hike prices for those using POS, bond notes or Ecocash.

“The four-tier pricing system where traders would charge a price for cash US dollars, a different price for cash bond notes, one for RTGS and another for Ecocash should also come to an end,” said Chinamasa.

Cabinet, said Minister Chinamasa, had since drafted and approved drastic measures to sanitise business and the measures were now being crafted into a Bill at the Attorney-General’s Office. - Online Sources

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