(Last Updated on December 25, 2015 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – President Robert Mugabe has ordered banks to stop hiking charges, calling the practice an extortion exercise meant to deprive clients of their hard earned cash.
Speaking at the National Heroes Acre in Harare Tuesday where former deputy minister, the late Aguy Clement Goergias was laid to rest, Mugabe said banks were making the current economic hardships worse for Zimbabweans.
How do we ever hope to grow this economy when we undermine the propensity to save, punishing borrowers? Mugabe asked.
The 91-year old leader said banks seem to be imposing their own sanctions against those who deposit with them.
It is only in the bank where time reduces deposited savings, instead of growing them.
One gets punished for depositing savings with banks, he added.
The President said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Ministry of Finance are looking into ways of addressing the problems in the new year.
Mugabe admitted the country faces many problems but, blamed some sectors for escalating the challenges.
Findings from the Making Access Possible (MAP) Diagnostic revealed that many Zimbabweans no longer trust banks and were now opting to use the new mobile money platforms.