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Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor

Some unscrupulous banks are forcing civil servants and pensioners to take their US dollar bonuses in Zimbabwe dollars under unclear circumstances.

There have been reports that some of the banks are lying to civil servants and pensioners that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has not yet delivered US dollars to banks, resulting in them asking people to accept the local currency.

In a statement this afternoon, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development confirmed this.

“It has come to the attention of Treasury that some banks are compulsorily liquidating civil servants bonus payments and thereby forcibly paying them in domestic currency.

“In addition, banks have resorted to making arbitrary charges against the bonus payments with some taking significant portions of the wages in the form of bank charges,” said the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry has since directed banks to allow civil servants to withdraw their bonus payments in full, in US dollars, subject only to existing daily cash withdrawal limits set by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Civil servants’ representatives had expressed concern over the conduct and high charges demanded by some banks, resulting in other pensioners and civil servants taking home paltry sums.