AFRICAN Century is optimistic that the government will deliver on its promise to settle legacy foreign debts, which were registered as “blocked funds”.

Between 2015 and 2019, a number of companies could not remit payments to foreign suppliers and shareholders due to foreign currency shortages in the country.

After the introduction of an interbank rate of exchange, and conversion of bank balances to RTGS in July 2019, the government assumed the legacy foreign debts of some corporations, which in turn remitted to the bank the ZWL equivalent of the obligations at a rate of 1:1 with the US$. African Century registered blocked funds amounting to US$14 374 634 with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in outstanding foreign liabilities.

“While debt instruments provided for in terms of the Finance Act Amendment No. 7 of 2021 had not been issued as at year end, the RBZ demonstrated its commitment to settle the foreign liabilities registered as blocked funds by availing a cumulative amount of US$1 million at the set rate of US$1:ZWL1 in part settlement of the blocked funds during the year ended December 2023