Zimbabwe’s security force leaders sidelined the nation’s economic chiefs and forced the government to close the stock exchange and halt most mobile-money transactions, people familiar with the situation said.
The June 26 order that sought to stabilise the nation’s currency came after pressure from the Joint Operations Command and was made without notifying the central bank, which regulates the mobile-money industry through which almost all of Zimbabwe’s commerce takes place, the people said.
Central bank officials were unaware of the order when called by mobile money companies on June 26, two of the people said.
The JOC took action as the Zimbabwe dollar, reintroduced last year after a decade-long hiatus, plunged in value on the black market to below 100 to the U.S. dollar.
Core to the dispute are the various rates that traders use to exchange U.S. dollars into electronic money, which can reduce the value of Zimbabwe’s currency.
