-Dealers cry for old kwacha extension

Dealers cry for old kwacha extension

Chipata, June 4, 2013, ZANIS…Some residents of Chipata have called on the Bank of Zambia to extend the deadline for using the old currency to December this year.

The residents have argued that this is because the old currency was still in circulation in rural areas.

Moses Banda a business man of Chipata said although there was still a provision for the general public to exchange the old currency from commercial banks up to the end of this year there was need to extend the period of usage.

Mr Banda said the 30 days remaining to transact in old notes was not enough as the old notes were still in abundance.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Chipata today that the Bank of Zambia should consider extending the deadline to December this year.

Mr Banda said that there was need for the Bank of Zambia to take stock of the remaining old currency in circulation.

He further stated that December would be the right time to set the deadline as farmers would have been through with selling of their produce.

Another business man Moffat Fungamwango said some banking institutions in the district were subjecting customers to a long process of separating old and new notes by writing two separate deposit slips a situation which was discouraging members of the general public.

“The process is cumbersome, I would rather buy something with the old notes than worst time in the bank, “he said.

Mr Fungamwango said this was among the reasons why the old currency was still in circulation adding that the central bank should instruct banks to use a simple way of changing the old money.