Gono's forex-for-fuel plan fuelling black market

By Violet Gonda
15 August 2005

Black market forex dealers at illegal hotspots in Harare are doing great business as a result of the government's fuel for forex plan. Motorists, desperate to get the scarce commodity are now forced to source hard currency on the black market so that they can buy the much-needed fuel from the few selected outlets.To get the fuel motorists have to first buy coupons from a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe foreign currency collection centre established at designated service stations! The coupons are then exchanged for fuel.While people were already selling fuel on the black market some dealers, including big companies in Harare, have started selling the coupons on the black market at inflated prices.Some of them have reappeared at their usual selling points such as the Road Port along 4th Street and Eastgate market. These markets were raided and closed down during the forex raids earlier in the year. Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa says even the police are buying the coupons from the black market because it's a better way of accessing fuel.He said fuel is bought with coupons at the rate of US$1 a litre at selected stations. The official rate for US$1 is $ 17 500. But the fuel coupons are then sold on the black market for as much as $60 000 to $80 000 per litre!Analysts say the authorities are achieving nothing as the latest plan is fueling the black market. This means less foreign currency is going directly to the established RBZ centers at filling stations.The worsening fuel shortage has resulted in a high demand for bicycles as many people cannot afford to buy the scarce commodity. There has been very little public transport, leaving commuters with little choice but to resort to using bikes. Muchemwa tells us that suppliers are also making a killing as the demand for bicycles increases. He said two months ago, a mountain bike cost just less that a million dollars. Now, it's $4.5million!