Banks authored 2030 multi-currency framework: Guvamatanga

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

A storm has erupted between Zimbabwe’s banks and the Treasury after Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion permanent secretary George Guvamatanga sensationally claimed that lenders themselves authored the 2030 multi-currency framework they are now rejecting.

“This 2030, again, which the bankers are now rejecting, it was not the minister who decided the 2030. The banks actually designed that SI for us, if I may be honest. Banks are saying we are having problems. We can’t lend. People are not investing, we can’t lend hence you need to change it,” Guvamatanga declared.

“ Now that we have the same SI, which you brought to us, using your own diction, you are now saying, no, we can’t lend. We are now limited to 2030.”

But banks, through the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ), have flatly denied penning Statutory Instrument 218 of 2023, insisting that the roadmap for the multi-currency regime “is not a prerogative of banks” but remains solely “a preserve of government.”

“The multi-currency regime roadmap is not a prerogative of banks; the government is responsible for drawing up the roadmap,” BAZ said in a written response.

It further clarified that the timelines of the multi-currency regime are clearly set in the statutory instrument, and that financial institutions had already structured their operations around the 2030 horizon.

Lenders, however, stressed the importance of restoring faith in the local currency, noting that stability cannot be engineered by decree alone.

“Building confidence is not an event but an ongoing process, and it is not only a prerogative of the Government, but all stakeholders are responsible for building confidence. The stability experienced has been a positive factor in driving towards confidence-building,” banks said.

The row comes against the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s shifting monetary policy.

Authorities had initially set 2025 as the expiry date of the multi-currency system, triggering uncertainty in the banking sector, with some lenders refusing to extend loans beyond that year.

That deadline was later repealed, with the government issuing Statutory Instrument 218 of 2023, which extended the use of foreign currencies — chiefly the US dollar — for settlement of transactions and payments until December 31, 2030.

Banks maintain they are complying with the law, while Treasury insists the industry cannot now distance itself from a framework it claims the lenders helped draft.