Kalyalya urges fight against dollarization

Kalyalya urges fight against dollarization
Written by Zumani Katasefa in Ndola
Sunday, July 05, 2009 4:29:58 PM

BANK of Zambia (BoZ) deputy governor Denny Kalyalya has urged Zambians to fight dollarisation because it brings about volatility in the exchange rate. And Dr Kalyalya said the central bank is concerned with the use of dirty and mutilated notes in circulation.

Speaking on Friday at the ongoing 44th Zambia International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Ndola when he toured the Bank of Zambia stand, Dr Kalyalya said the central bank was concerned with traders quoting goods in United States dollars, saying this trend contributed to volatility in the exchange rate of the kwacha against other major currencies.

“I appeal to general members of the public to fight dollarisation. I appeal to people doing this to stop…this brings about the volatility in the exchange rate. If we all work together, there will be stability in our exchange rate,” he said.

He said the fight against dollarisation would be effective if institutions such as the Registrar of Companies were involved.

“For instance, the Registrar of Companies would put in certain conditions that would allow investors not to quote goods in dollars, this I am sure is going to help us fight dollarisation,” he said.

Dr Kalyalya said it was important for members of the public to also promote the use of clean notes by making sure that they properly handled the notes.

“We have a clear note policy, we want to have clean notes circulation. Members of the general public should also help promote the use of good notes in public,” DR Kalyalya said.

Dr Kalyalya also encouraged Zambians and non Zambians to invest in government bonds saying there were no restrictions on who should buy the bonds.

And Bank of Zambia assistant director for non-banking financial institutions Gladys Mposha said despite the global financial crisis, Zambia had seen a number of financial institutions coming into the country.

“We have not really seen the effects of this global financial crisis, capitalisation for the banking industry has even increased,” said Mposha.