Zimbabwe to Launch Yet Another Currency
The Zimbabwean government will launch a “structured currency” which the ‘market has been waiting for to pick the new macroeconomic trajectory.'
Zimbabwe, battered by economic turmoil for over two decades now, has the highest inflation and one of the lowest valued currency units in the world.
Well-informed sources told The NewsHawks that outgoing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya — officially replaced by his successor John Mushayavanhu yesterday — will launch the new currency soon after Easter holidays at the end of the week – almost certainly on Friday.
Mangudya will launch the currency with Mushayavanhu playing a prominent role in the process as the incoming governor tasked to defend that new unit, while fighting inflation.
The RBZ, banker and advisor to government, is responsible for formulation and implementation of monetary policy to ensure low and stable inflation levels, while protecting the value of the currency.
A source said:
The new currency will be launched at the end of the week after the Easter holidays — on Friday.
It was supposed to have been launched much earlier in the year when the monetary policy statement was due in January or February, but it was delayed.
Then 28 March was set as the new date, but there were still certain things that were not yet in place.
So next week is the new date. Its value will be determined by the value of the ZiG, an RBZ gold-backed token.
The official appointment and the role of Mushayavanhu was also an issue.
Prior to that there were issues of gold and United States dollar reserves accumulation which were supposed to be in place before its announcement.
One of the functions of the RBZ is management of the country’s gold and foreign exchange assets.
This was a key process is coming up with the structured currency.
Zimbabwe to Launch Yet Another Currency
Zimbabwe is battling the double whammy of currency volatility and inflation.
Currency volatility occurs when there are rapid changes to the exchange rate of a currency in a short period of time.
Political and economic conditions have a considerable bearing on the exchange rate, thus its fluctuations.
Inflation, both cost-pull and demand-pull, and foreign currency market operations also have an impact on the exchange rate.
Contacted for comment, Mangudya said the delay in delivering the monetary policy statement was necessitated by the need to finalise arrangements to ensure that the structured currency is well-supported to sustain exchange rate and price stability.
