HARARE, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's industrial body on Tuesday decried on-going foreign currency shortages in the economy, saying these had become a serious threat to businesses who are facing challenges in importing raw materials.
"The situation is threatening to reverse the progress that has been achieved through various policy initiatives," the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) said in a statement.
Zimbabwe is facing an acute shortage of foreign currency, mainly the U.S. dollar which has become the main trading and transacting currency after the country adopted the multiple currency regime in 2009.
The shortage is seriously affecting banks' capacity to finance local transactions and meet international obligations for both the private and public sector.
Zimbabweans are also spending hours in bank queues waiting to withdraw little amounts of money as banks have drastically reduced withdrawal amounts due to the cash scarcity.
CZI said it was concerned that there was no clear strategy to address the situation by monetary authorities.
"Granted, there is need to increase exports, but this would not happen overnight as there is need for concerted effort to establish or regain certain markets," the CZI said, adding that the ability to export was being frustrated by the punitive operating environment.
The CZI is one of the organizations that have been vocal on the need for Zimbabwe to adopt the South African Rand as its main transacting currency considering that South Africa is Zimbabwe's largest trading partner.
However, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has shot down the proposal, arguing that Zimbabwe's economic problems were not being caused by a currency problem but structural challenges which cannot be addressed by a currency solution alone.
Despite serious economic challenges, the government is upbeat that growth will jump to 3.7 percent in 2017 from 0.7 percent in 2016 buoyed by strong growth in agriculture and mining sectors.
