THE Government has warned schools rejecting school fees payments in the local ZiG currency that they will be dealt with accordingly.

Schools open for the second term this Tuesday, and the government has since warned authorities against demanding fees payments exclusively in United States dollars while rejecting the local currency.

Investigations by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s Financial Intelligence Unit have since established that some schools are demanding up to 80 percent of tuition fees in the United States dollar and the remainder in local currency.

The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Honourable Torerai Moyo, confirmed to ZBC News government’s position on fees payments, warning that school authorities found on the wrong side of the law will face music.

Institutions of higher and tertiary education are also obliged to accept payments in the local currency.

“The government policy is very clear in terms of means of payment of trade. We are in a multi-currency regime. ZiG is one of those currencies that we are supposed to use and as a result, we should first of all as Zimbabweans have confidence in the currency, this includes the institutions.

“The ministry’s policy is very clear, there is no institution that is supposed to reject ZiG as a means of payment. As long as there is any institution doing so, the public should come forward and let us know,” said the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Honourable Simelisizwe Sibanda.

The government has since launched a multi-agency blitz to account for schools demanding fees exclusively in foreign currency and rejecting the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) in contravention of exchange control regulations.

The multi-agency operation will see officers from ZACC, RBZ’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and police deployed to pursue school authorities that are breaking the law.

ZBC News