Zimbabwe officially abandoned the multi-currency system through an extraordinary Government Gazette, ending a dramatic 10 years of dollarisation and laying the country on a path towards relaunching the Zimbabwean dollar..
Effective from Monday last week, electronic transactions, bond notes and coins became the only legitimate forms of money that can be used in Zimbabwe.
After the announcement, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) threatened to embark on mass action demanding the repealing of the SI, although it has now mellowed and is in talks with government over the way forward.
Ziyambi told the Daily News that government has no intention whatsoever of repealing the law.
"On the issue of SI 142, we are not going to reverse anything, it's now a done deal, we are moving forward. Even after those six months, there is nothing going to change on the SI 142," Ziyambi said.
Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 was made under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act, which gives the president powers to make regulations: If situations arise that need to be dealt with urgently, the president is empowered to make regulations providing for any matter or thing for which Parliament can also make provision in an Act''.
In other words, under this Act, the president has the same law-making power as Parliament. His or her regulations, however, only last for six months, by which time they can be tabled before the House.
Even after the regulations have been tabled in Parliament, they stand to sail through given that Zanu-PF has a majority in both houses - the National Assembly and Senate - meaning it can impose its supermajority to have its way.
It's leadership also controls both houses, with the National Assembly under Jacob Mudenda and the Senate led by Mabel Chinomona, with those two powerful posts underlining the delicate balance of power in the legislature.
It's therefore a fait accompli that the money regulations will be endorsed by Parliament, albeit with resistance from the MDC backbenchers.
Mnangagwa and his Cabinet are under pressure to stop the economy from sliding back into the throes of a crisis similar to the 2008 hyperinflation era.
