‘US dollar bonuses to ease pressure on exchange rate’

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THE US$120 million injected into the economy in the form of bonuses for civil servants will ease pressure on the exchange rate that has seen inflation rising again after a sustained decline, analysts say.
The government started paying out the bonuses at the end of November and analysts who spoke to The Financial Gazette this week said the development would likely lead to a spike in demand for the domestic unit.

“Because civil servants are earning bonuses in US$ there is no need for them to go and buy foreign currency, so, that will kind of stabilise the rates and obviously inflation, because they won’t put pressure on the exchange rate,” economics professor Gift Mugano said.