Central bank chief John Mangudya says Zimbabweans will not be forced to use the newly introduced special bond coins amid reports that some people remain skeptical of the government’s intentions.
The so-called bond coins are in denominations of one, five, 10, and 25 cents and were released into the money market Thursday.
They have the same value as the United States cents. But some Zimbabweans think Harare may want to re-introduce the Zimbabwe dollar through the back door.
But both Mangudya and Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa have insisted the Zimbabwe dollar is not coming back into circulation anytime soon.
The central bank says the coins will ease change problems that were affecting consumers since the introduction of multiple currencies in 2009.
Mangudya said in an exclusive interview that the uptake of the coins is encouraging.
Edward Manning of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economies Associations insists that most of their members are shunning the coins.
Themba Ndebele, president of the Retailers Association of Zimbabwe says there is no reason why the informal traders should shun the coins.