Shops will be required to display coming official rates in another RBZ twist

Oh snap.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has come back with new rules.

On Tuesday there is an expectation of a new official rate as the foreign currency auction system kicks in. This will essentially move the dial away from the 25 currently there, to well, who knows?

But the new new is that shops will now be required to post the official rate so that they do not peg their pricing against the parallel market.

Of course, this will be easy to manage when it comes to the official shops but we know a lot of trade is happening outside the formal system. So does that mean informal sector actors will have to carry these as well? And hotels? And lodges? And, well you see where we are going with this.

There is a feeling among many that the myriad of rules every week are not even being given a chance to see if they work. This would make one wonder if there is a clear indication of a plan.

That said, it should make for a possibly strange week. How close to the street rate will the official rate come?