BRICS: New nation to jail individuals using dollar
A new Southern African nation is following the BRICS de-dollarisation mission and planning to jail any individuals in the country who use the US dollar in business transactions.
As the economic alliance has continued its efforts to abandon the US dollar, Zambia has become the latest country to ditch the greenback and plans to force its citizens to do the same by law.
A draft document released by the Bank of Zambia on Saturday reveals that individuals caught using foreign currency for local transactions could face up to 10 years in prison or substantial fines.
Zambia is a small country in the South African subregion. This latest drafted rule is likely targeting the US dollar specifically to garner attention from the BRICS bloc.
A former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, also appears on board with the new initiative to abandon the US Dollar.
In a recent discussion around the US dollar, he said that China, India, many African countries, and those in Latin America had been questioning the use of the US currency as a trading currency in the world. He added that if two countries who did not use the dollar as their currency got into trade agreements there was no use in using it.
The proposed anti-US dollar law in Zambia will require all local public and private transactions to be conducted in Zambian kwacha (ZMW) and ngwee. Zambian Central Bank’s Deputy Governor for Operations, Francis Chipimo, at a trade fair in Ndola, emphasised the importance of using local currency during travels in support of this new law. Chipimo highlights the detrimental effects of dollarisation on the country’s economy. The deputy governor adds that it hinders effective monetary and exchange rate policy management. Thus, ending reliance on the US dollar will only help the country and other countries across the continent.
Indeed, many other African nations are working in similar veins to ditch the US greenback for trade.
Recently, BRICS member China has had a strong influence across the continent, especially in Zambia. The Bank of China, for example, offers services in Zambia, South Africa and Kenya.
That is not just a development that marks greater Chinese cooperation, but one that is indicative of a much greater economic shift.
Zambia has yet to curate a formal application to join the BRICS bloc, however, this new law will certainly put the nation on the alliances’ radar in the October summit. The country will allow you to trade your foreign currency for the Zambian native currencies upon arrival, but violators will indeed be sent to jail for up to 10 years.
Edited by Uji A. ILIYASU