The government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe are set to appeal the High Court ruling that invalidated the conversion of USD debts into RTGS 2 days ago.
The announcement has been made by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube who assured the nation that his conversion arrangement remains in place pending the outcome of the appeal. The ruling was widely celebrated by suppliers and creditors who lend their monies in USD but were settled only a small fraction of their balances when the USD-RTGS rate started to rise.
The matter was between:
PENELOPE DOUGLAS STONE and RICHARD HAROLD STUART BEATTIE Trading as THE STONE/BEATTIE STUDIO
versus
CENTRAL AFRICAN BUILDING SOCIETY
and RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE
and MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Mthuli Ncube made his intentions known through the following letter:
STATEMENT ON COURT JUDGMENT ON THE EXCHANGE CONTROL DIRECTIVE NO. R120/18 ON THE SEPARATION OF RTGS FCA ACCOUNTS AND FCA NOSTRO ACCOUNTS
The Attorney General has brought to my attention the judgment on the Exchange Control Directive No. R120/18 pertaining to the separation of RTGS FCA accounts and FCA Nostro accounts.
Government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe do not agree with the conclusion in the judgment to the effect that the Exchange Control Directive is unconstitutional. They take the view that the court has failed to give a.proper interpretation to the directive. In the circumstances, Government and the Reserve Bank intend to file an appeal against the judgment. They are further fortified in this cause of action by the fact that the court did not impugn the provisions of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2015 and the amendments made to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 22:15] which were based on the Exchange Control Directive in question.
Accordingly, Government and the Reserve.Bank of Zimbabwe wish to assure the nation that the monetary arrangements which were put in place as a result of the Exchange Control Directive in question will remain in place pending the outcome of the appeal to be noted in the next few days.
Hon. Prof. M. Ncube MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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