A Zimbabwe Defence Forces military officer, Air Force of Zimbabwe Air Vice-Marshal, Michael Moyo, has taken Dominican Convent School in Harare to court for withdrawing an offer letter for form one place for his daughter after he refused to pay school fees in United States dollars.
The NewsHawks report that Moyo intended to pay money equivalent to US$1 500 at the prevailing official foreign currency auction rate as developmental fees after his daughter excelled during the selection process.
However, the school demanded US dollars which he refused to pay insisting on paying local currency which resulted in the school withdrawing the offer letter.
Moyo has mounted the lawsuit together with his wife Sylvia and is seeking an order declaring the school’s decision unlawful.
The senior military officer is seeking an order compelling the school to comply with statutory Instrument 127/2021 also known as the Presidential Powers Temporary Measures Financial Laundering Amendment Regulations 2021.
The statutory instrument gives the central bank powers to impose the penalties in the event of default in complying with exchange control regulations that govern the use of funds obtained from the forex auction.
Meanwhile, there is a great variance between the official bank rate and the parallel market exchange rates.
Some institutions have been using the parallel market rate to price their goods and services saying the bank rate is fictitious.