If the ZiG is so strong, why arrest money changers?

There are some basic questions we need to ask ourselves.

Why do Zimbabweans go to street money changers?

Is it not because they want the US dollar?

Why do they want this currency?

It is because they regard it as a secure store of value.

Why do they not prefer the local currency?

It is because they do not have confidence in it.

Why do they not have confidence in their own money?

It is because the local currency has been a huge disappointment over the past two decades, where it has relentlessly lost value to shocking levels, such that most Zimbabweans have had all their wealth eroded literally overnight.

To make matters worse, they are now seeing the government itself not having any confidence in the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, as they charge or peg all their fees in the US dollar.

Why is the President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa regime not charging for passports, toll fees, and other services exclusively in the ZiG if it is so reliable and strong?

So, who can blame ordinary Zimbabweans for flooding to illegal money changers in order to dispose of the local currency in preference of the greenback?

In so doing, as the demand for the US dollar continues to increase, its value also subsequently increases – whilst the local currency depreciates.

That is why the ZiG has already lost considerable value in just the three weeks it has been in use, albeit only in electronic form.

As of yesterday, while the ZiG was officially trading at 13.56 to the greenback, on the streets where the US dollar is more readily available, it is at 21.00.

So, can anyone, in all sincerity, blame illegal money changers for the depreciation of the local currency?

Is it their fault that the bulk of Zimbabweans do want to keep the ZiG and feel more confident and safe holding on US dollars?

What then is the point in arresting these street money changers?

Will that make Zimbabweans suddenly trust the local currency and want to keep it?

Is that line of thinking not heavily flawed?

If someone desperately wants something, he will make sure he gets it, no matter what!

They may just go underground, but that can never kill the black foreign currency market.

As a matter of fact, even law enforcement agents also prefer keeping the greenback – so they whole exercise was a huge charade.

The issue here is the demand for the US dollar and rejection of, through the lack of confidence in the ZiG.

This is what the government needs to address, not expending scarce valuable resources in deploying the police to arrest these people.

What needs to be done is to instill the lacking confidence so that ordinary citizens want to keep their own currency.

If people trust their own money, then they will automatically not go to street money changers since they will have no desire for the US dollar.

In turn, the black market will suffer a natural death.

This is something that can never be forced upon anyone.

Even if those on the streets were to wake up tomorrow and declare the exchange rate to be US$1 selling for ZiG100, as long as Zimbabweans trust their own currency, that will not impact anything.

This will also mean major supermarkets and even the informal sector will have confidence in the ZiG such that any black market rate will be of no significance, as they will accept the local currency as the sole medium of trade.

Those are the results of a currency that people believe in.

Actually, the fact that the Mnangagwa administration is choosing to force people into accept the ZiG through creating a fake shortage of US dollars (by arresting street money changers) only makes the situation worse.

Scenes of over 65 money changers in handcuffs as they are hauled to court do not inspire confidence in the ZiG.

There are hundreds of money changers in the capital, Harare, alone, and I do not believe they will all be rounded up.

So, why embark on a mission that will only destroy the little confidence Zimbabweans had in this new currency?

There are those who were willing to give the ZiG a chance, but now that has changed.

Now, the little confidence Zimbabweans had for the ZiG is effectively eroded.

We are all asking ourselves why the government is so afraid of illegal money changers?

If the ZiG is as stable and strong as it is touted to be – backed by gold and foreign currency reserves – why should the government be worried about these street money changers?

If the local currency is so good, no one will care about changing it into US dollars.

This will deal with the black market on its own, without the need for arresting anyone.

Now, the Mnangagwa regime has effectively prevented that from happening.