Zimbabwe’s central bank says it will soon introduce bond notes to ease serious cash shortages in the country.
According to The Source, an independent financial and business news entity, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe John Mangudya who made the announcement today, the bond notes are likely to be introduced within the next two months.
Zimbabweans are currently being restricted to a daily withdrawal of $50 due to the cash crisis. The country introduced bond coins a year ago, which were rejected by many people claiming that the nation was attempting to re-introduce the defunct Zimbabwe dollar.
The Source further noted that with effect from with effect from tomorrow, 40 percent of all new US dollar receipts will be converted to the rand. Mandudya said this is designed to restore and promote the wide usage of currencies in the multicurrency basket.
The Source also reported that the public will only be able to withdraw a maximum of $1,000, 1,000 Euro and 20,000 rands from their accounts on a daily basis.
Studio 7 was unable to clarify this issue with the central bank as Mangudya said he was attending a meeting.
Some critics immediately said indications are that Zimbabwe will start printing money in the form of bond notes like what it did during former governor Gideon Gono’s term of office in which the country printed worthless bearers’ cheques running into trillions of dollars.
Zimbabwe recorded unprecedented hyperinflationary figures leading to the scrapping of its own currency.
For perspective, Studio 7 reached economic commentator Rejoice Ngwenya, who said the country is attempting to re-introduce Zimbabwe’s local currency through the back door.
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Interview With Rejoice Ngwenya on Bond Notes