NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Moses Matenga

Cotton growers have criticised the government for its abrupt ban on bulk mobile money transfers, saying this will derail their operations as payments are now taking longer at a time the rate of inflation is galloping.

The government, on June 26, banned mobile phone-based payments to deal with what it called ‘criminality and economic sabotage.’

A day later, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe revised the ban by suspending bulk mobile phone-based transactions and imposed limits on money transfers.

Cotton farmers, however, told a meeting in Gokwe-Nembudziya organised by the parliamentary portfolio committee on agriculture chaired by the local MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena that the ban was ill-conceived as it would have a devastating impact on their operations.

Photo courtesy of Joseph D’Mello.