‘Pay contractors in forex’

By Staff writer

MOST Government-funded projects have been put on hold due to lack of funding, a development that has seen projects like Tuli-Manyange dam, Gwanda-Maphisa Road and Gwanda-Manama Road being halted.
One of the business community members in Gwanda, Leklong Mukwena, pleaded for contractors to be paid in foreign currency so that they could complete developmental projects rather than running away before completion.
“As a business community, we are saying dollarisation is the way to go.
“Currently, contractors are failing to complete projects because they are paid in RTGS, yet raw materials are quoted in forex.
“Having received their payments in local currency they are forced to go to the streets to buy foreign currency, which is not healthy,” pleaded Mukwena.
However, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said that the Government had put in place measures to prevent its infrastructural project contractors from driving the forex parallel market.
Contractors are accused of driving currency volatility and instability by sourcing foreign currency from the streets.