We Must Have Our Own Currency To Solve Cash Crisis: Minister Mukupe

Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Terrence Mukupe has said that it is imperative for Zimbabwe to reintroduce its own local currency in order to solve the prevailing cash crisis. According to Mukupe, the currency will be backed by commodities.

Technically if we were to introduce our currency right now you would probably let it float between a $1,50 and $2 to US dollar, that’s where it should settle at. That would be the solution to our current problems. We have to adopt a national currency without a doubt and there has to be a cap on the maximum release of how much of the new currency you are going to put out. The numbers that are there right now are indicating probably that the maximum release is not more than a billion dollars.

For me releasing US dollars is a temporary measure but if you release that as your national currency that would work. Then it becomes an issue of what are you are backing the currency with. What is it that we have right now that we can use to back our currency? What’s probably feasible and what’s probably sustainable is you could back it using you forex facilities, your diamond stocks because our forex facilities have been gold backed for the last part and there isn’t much capacity there but our diamond stocks are run and covered for the most part.

Mukupe has previously said that the Zimbabwe dollar will be reintroduced before President Emmerson Mnangagwa completes his first five-year term. Said Mukupe before,

Zimbabwe will have its own currency after putting the necessary fundamentals to deal with our own currency first, which will be there before the end of President Mnangagwa first five-year term as we would have managed to create the right and sustainable import cover.

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