ZIMBABWE eased foreign exchange rules in an attempt to release pressure caused by the southern African country’s economic crisis, said Reuters.
Its central bank said oil firms, chrome miners, embassies and international organisations could conduct local transactions in foreign currencies, as the country battles an acute dollar crunch and soaring inflation.
Last month, Zimbabwe banned the use of foreign currencies in domestic transactions after it made its RTGS currency the sole legal tender, ending a decade of dollarisation, said Reuters.
In a circular to banks Reuters said it had seen, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said those earning foreign currency could buy fuel in dollars and that chrome mining firms could buy chromium from small scale producers in foreign currency.
The exemption of foreign currency earners, just a month after the government ended dollarisation, could be seen as yet another sign of the authorities’ flip flopping when it comes to policy, which has spooked investors in the past, the newswire said.
