LSZ sues over currency conversion

Source: LSZ sues over currency conversion | The Herald

Yeukai Karengezeka Court Correspondent
The Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) has taken Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube to court seeking an order declaring that Presidential Powers that allowed the conversion of US dollars into Zimbabwe dollar balances in February 2019, were unconstitutional.

The introduction of the multi-currency regime was regularised and given legal effect by way of Section 17 of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2009.

Consequently, the applicant including other citizens were allowed to open and operate United States dollar accounts for purposes of transacting in such currency and the society opened several bank accounts with several banks, the LSZ argued.

President Mnangagwa promulgated the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act and Issue of Real-Time Gross Settlement Dollars (RTGS Dollars) Regulations, 2019, which ended the multi-currency era.

LSZ cited Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and its Governor, Dr John Mangudya, President Mnangagwa and the Attorney-General of Zimbabwe as respondents.

Through its executive secretary, Edwin Mapara, LSZ wants the actions of the respondents to compulsorily convert balances to be declared to have amounted to compulsory deprivation and expropriation of such US dollars without adequate compensation.”

The section says every person has the right in any part of Zimbabwe to acquire, hold, occupy, use, transfer, hypothecate, lease or dispose of all forms of property, either individually or in association with others and has right to transfer property.

The case is yet to be heard.