The Zimbabwean central bank, The Reserve Bank has introduced a Statutory Instrument which outlaws the use of all foreign currencies as legal tender in the country. It also reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar which has been pegged at par with the quasi-currency, the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar.
Zimbabweans have been expressing their views and feelings on the move. One of those to have made their views clear is Linda Masarira, the leader of the Labour, Economists and African Democrats (LEAD). She tweeted:
This is a step in the right direction, it will hurt those who sabotaging the economy and involved in money laundering. I applaud the government of Zimbabwe for making this unpopular move which will definitely save Zimbabweans from market distortions which had made life unbearable
A USA based legal expert, Alex T Magaisa had his say on the “dramatic return of the Zimbabwe dollar”. He says that despite the fact that the SI looks as if it was designed by people in a panic mode, it remains factual to say that Zimbabwe now has a new currency.
Magaisa added that the Zimbabwe dollar did not collapse in 2008 because the government declared that the use of a multicurrency system was now legal but because the market no longer had faith in it as a currency. He said that although one may expect the printing of new notes, the RTGS dollar (bond, electronic money) was renamed the Zimbabwean dollar. He added:
Will a government declaration of its return as legal tender convince the market to have faith in it? It’s a long shot but this is the challenge that the government has to overcome. After all, trust is a critical element of money. And trust in the political authority issuing that money is fundamental.
Magaisa observes, like this publication, that the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe Dollar is an ambush on the market which expected that the new currency will be introduced at least at the year-end.
One Twitter account, Hillary Musarurwa posted:
“Zimbabwe to introduce a new currency in 9 months time.” It seems the regime’s 9 months is a weekend long.
This was a response to a tweet by Adv TTG Musarurwa who had said:
These tactics of introducing a currency in the dead of the night only serve to decrease confidence in your policies. Confidence, like respect, is earned, not legislated. There will soon be no money in the banks save for whatever you want to call that which you want to pay civil s
MDC Secretary for Education, advocate Fadzayi Mahere has said that policy inconsistency by the government is making it difficult to have long term plans or investments.
More to follow at news.pindula.co.zw