* Zimbabwe wants miners’ export earnings brought back
* Dollarised economy faces hard currency shortage
By Nelson Banya
HARARE, March 18 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe has ordered foreign
mining firms to deposit their export earnings with local banks,
state media reported on Sunday, the latest government move to
exert pressure on miners as it tries to address the dollar
crunch afflicting its economy.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told the Sunday Mail that cabinet
last week had decided to tell mining companies to bring back
earnings from their Zimbabwe operations which were deposited in
offshore accounts.
“We have been liberal. It does not make sense that mining
companies are operating in the country and keeping money in
offshore accounts,” Mpofu told the Mail.
“An order has been issued and they should all bring the
money back into the country because the economy is now
dollarised.”
Zimbabwe’s unity government has managed to stabilise the
economy, which grew by 9.3 percent in 2011 and is set to grow by
a further 9.4 percent this year according to official figures,
but the country is battling an acute dollar shortage.
Zimbabwe adopted the use of foreign currencies, mostly the
U.S. dollar and South African rand in 2009, after its own unit
was destroyed by hyperinflation that reached 500 billion percent
in December 2008.
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