Government has intensified efforts to end the use of United States dollars in the country, threatening to arrest traders and individuals who disregard the Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 which introduced mono-currency- the Zimbabwean dollar.
In a statement released today, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said those caught on the wrong side of the law will be arrested despite their social status.
“In the same vein, supermarkets and shops are implored to display commodity prices in order to allow members of the public to access goods and services in an environment which gives them room to plan, coordinate and buy the items freely without any form of manipulation by unscrupulous dealers.
“The ZRP warns all those who are charging commodities in United States dollars that they risk being arrested as the law will be applied without fear or favour,” he said.
This comes barely a week after the government dumped the multi-currency regime through Statutory Instrument 142/2019 and opted for the Zim Dollar, a move which has been received with mixed feelings.
Some business operators, however, have ignored the directive and continued trading using the USD, prompting the police to threaten them with arrests.
Nyathi said should members of the public should report such cases to the police.
“Members of the public should report such people to any nearest police station or the National Complaints Desk on telephone numbers 0242-703631 or WhatsApp number 0712800197,” he added.
On Monday last week, government released the Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 which outlawed multicurrency regime which effectively ended the use of US dollars in the country.
Though there is widespread scepticism over the success of the mono-currency especially the return of the Zimbabwean dollar against a background of hyper-inflation that forced its abandonment in 2009, government has stuck its guns insisting the new measure will work.
