Finance, Economic Development and lnvestment Promotion Minister, Mthuli Ncube, said he doesn’t understand why fuel dealers refuse to accept ZiG as payment for their products.

Appearing before joint parliamentary portfolio committees on budget and finance as well as industry and commerce on Tuesday, Ncube said some businesses were still in the transition from ZWL to ZiG but will soon accept the new currency without difficulty. He said (via ZimLive):

"I don’t know why they don’t accept ZiG. We are in a multi-currency regime; they ought to accept if a buyer of fuel wishes to pay in ZIG.

This issue of transition from a volatile Zimbabwean dollar to a stable ZiG will take time for people to get their heads around it but with time, they will accept ZiG without difficulty. They should accept ZiG."

Ncube said the Treasury and the Central Bank will continue to encourage the acceptance of the ZiG by the local market.

He said authorities “will search low and high” for measures to ensure that businesses and traders accept the new currency.

The ZiG is the country’s sixth attempt to deliver a functioning local currency since 2008.

Authorities say the currency is backed by 2.5 tons of gold and $100 million in foreign currency reserves held by the central bank.

The Government has come under criticism for offering some of its services exclusively in foreign currency.

Source Pindula