Businesses in Zimbabwe are grappling with supply chain management challenges posed by the country’s dual currency system, where transactions can be conducted using both the United States dollar and the locally-introduced ZiG currency.
Zimbabwe adopted a multi-currency framework in 2009, with the majority of transactions since then being carried out in foreign currencies.
However, in April 2024, the government introduced a new gold-backed currency, called the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), to replace the RTGS dollar, which had lost 80% of its value since the beginning of the year.
The challenges posed by this dual currency regime have come to the forefront after Simbisa Brands, a major Zimbabwean company, wrote to its suppliers seeking a modification to their payment terms. The letter states:
<blockquote>
Given the trading environment where we are receiving less than 50% of our sales in United States dollars, we find ourselves unable to settle our suppliers exclusively in US dollars on the current terms. We are therefore writing this letter to request a change in payment terms effective immediately.
The new terms will be as follows: Simbisa to settle 50% of the before VAT (value added tax) invoice amount in USD and the balance to be converted and settled in ZiG. VAT thereon will be settled 100% in USD in line with Zimra requirements. Other terms remain the same as agreed, supplier to continue invoicing in USD 100%.
</blockquote>
Speaking to The Independent, economist Chenaimoyo Mutambasere said suppliers are now increasingly demanding payments in United States dollars due to the volatility of the ZiG. She said:
<blockquote>
Businesses in Zimbabwe, including Simbisa Brands, are navigating complex challenges due to the dual currency system.
The partial payment of sales in US dollars creates significant complications in managing supply chains.
Many suppliers now demand payment in USD due to the volatility of the ZiG, especially considering the fact that international suppliers and certain key inputs can only be sourced with foreign currency.
This has put immense pressure on businesses to maintain adequate United States dollar reserves…
Many businesses, including Simbisa, are increasingly forced to negotiate payment terms in USD to avoid the risks associated with the local currency.
</blockquote>
Another economist Prosper Chitambara said it makes sense for people to change their U.S. dollars on the black market into the local ZiG currency and then use the ZiG to pay for services or goods. Said Chitambara:
<blockquote>
Given the destruction that we were witnessing on the foreign exchange markets, it actually makes sense for people to pay for services or even for goods using ZiG.
But of course that then affects a lot of businesses that are not able to have their foreign exchange requirements fully satisfied on the interbank market.
So, because of the distortions, it actually makes sense for a person to change his USD on the black market into ZiG then go into a formal retail outlet and buy commodities.
I think this letter by Simbisa shows they are also feeling the impact. They are not able to fully mobilise foreign exchange through the interbank market. They are just trying to make sure that at least 50% of their payment will be in USD.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Businesses in Zimbabwe are having a hard time managing both the US dollar and the new ZiG currency. Many companies like Simbisa Brands are struggling to pay their suppliers in US dollars because they are getting less income in that currency. Suppliers want US dollars because the ZiG is unreliable. Some experts say it might be better to use ZiG for payments, but many companies still need US dollars. This is causing a lot of problems for businesses in Zimbabwe.

Currency Chaos: Businesses Struggle With Multi-Currency System

The Government has said that universities and polytechnics must accept fee payments in both local and foreign currencies, aligning with the country’s laws on the multi-currency regime.
Simelisizwe Sibanda, the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science, and Technology Development, emphasized that no currency should be rejected by universities during an interview with <a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/universities-fees-payable-in-any-currency-of-choice/">The Sunday News</a>. He said:
<blockquote>
As a Ministry what we are reiterating is that we should at least pay university fees which will make our institutions develop.
Government policy is clear in that we are in a multi-currency regime and no currency can be rejected in universities, the position is that all currencies are accepted.
Unfortunately, this situation went the route it took, which initially needed the university to sit with the student body and iron out without necessarily going to court.
It is a waste of money on the student side because we are saying they do not have money, and now the little that they have is going to the lawyers.
For those students who cannot afford to pay the university fees, there is the work-for-fees programme which caters for the less privileged students, taking from the President’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
So if those children cannot afford to pay, they can approach their universities to be included in this facility.
The government has all the apparatus that are in place to ensure that students access education and at the same time ensure that the universities remain conducive to offering the top-notch education which we envisage for the development of our nation.
</blockquote>
Recently, the High Court took action by blocking the Midlands State University (MSU) from demanding fees exclusively in United States dollars.
Instead, the institution has been directed to allow students the option to pay in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate.
Harare High Court judge Justice Davison Foroma issued this ruling following an urgent application by three MSU students: Sabelo Saimano, Solomon Goredema, and Simbarashe Muzorori.
These applicants, who are pursuing a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), sought an urgent order from the High Court through their legal representatives, Wintertons Legal Practitioners.
Their request was to allow payment of the US component of their fees and levies in local currency, aligning with the prevailing interbank rate.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Universities Cannot Demand Fees Exclusively In Foreign Currency - Deputy Minister

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube said that the refusal by banks to lend money both in Zimbabwe dollars and in United States dollars prompted the Government to enact Statutory Instrument 218 of 2023 which extended the use of the multiple currency system to December 2030.
Ncube said this during his presentation at this year’s pre-budget seminar, held under the theme “Consolidating Economic Transformation”, at the new parliament building. <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/we-are-headed-for-mono-currency-lets-be-clear-about-that-says-mthuli-ncube-gives-reasons-behind-multi-currency-system-tenure-to-2030/">NewZimbabwe.com</a> quoted Ncube as saying:
<blockquote>
You saw the SI that we issued a few days ago, where we said because of that, we wanted an orderly situation in the market rather than disorder.
Disorder was beginning to emerge. What we saw in the banking sector. Banks were now refusing to lend money at all, some of them in USD, so that had become chaotic.
So we thought that let’s release some pressure from the market to restore order.
</blockquote>
Minister Ncube also stated that despite extending the multi-currency regime by another 7 years, the Government has not abandoned plans for a mono-currency. He said:
<blockquote>
We are headed for mono currency, let’s be clear about that, but we want order. So the extension to 2030 was to create order and calm in the market.
</blockquote>
Economists estimate that 80% of the local economy is dollarised, with the gap between the official and exchange rates continuing to widen.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Mthuli Ncube Reveals Reason For Extending Multi-currency Regime To 2030

Captains of industry and commerce as well as economists have welcomed the extension of the tenure of the multi-currency regime beyond the initially planned cut-off period of 2025 to 2030.
In a government gazette on Friday, 27 October, President Emmerson Mnangagwa repealed the 2019 order which had given 2025 as the deadline.
Mnangagwa invoked Section 2 of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act to extend the duration of the multicurrency regime to 2030.
A notice published in the Government Gazette reads:
<blockquote>
His Excellency, the President, in terms of Section 2 of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act (Chapter 10:20) hereby makes the following regulations:-
These regulations may be cited as Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Exchange Control Act) Regulations, 2023.
The Exchange Control Act (Chapter 20:05) is amended in Section 11 (Civil Penalties Orders) by the repeal of Subsection (2a) and substitution of-
(2a) The provisions of the Schedule, in so far as they expressly or impliedly permit the settlement of any transaction or the payment for goods and services in foreign currency, shall, notwithstanding Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019, be valid until 31st December 2030.
</blockquote>
Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 provided for the Zimbabwe dollar as the sole legal tender for local transactions.
In June 2022, the Government promulgated Statutory Instrument (SI) 118A of 2022, which provided for the multi-currency system for the entire period of National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), a five-year economic blueprint adopted by the Government in 2020 and runs through to December 2025.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/multi-currency-regime-to-stay/">The Herald</a> following the extension of the multi-currency system to 2030, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president Kurai Matsheza said:
<blockquote>
We are happy that what we have been asking for has been answered, and we hope it will bring some stability and certainty.
However a successive plan needs to be tabled because 2030 is not very far away, so we have to work on what comes next after 2030.
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Economist, Persistence Gwanyanya, who is also a member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee said:
<blockquote>
The policy maker has answered the market’s call about multiple currency, curbing the uncertainty on the multicurrency system, the expiry date was approaching.
This nurtures confidence, de-dollarisation is going to be market-driven, it is not going to be dictated (to the market by the Government), and monetary authorities should now seek an optimal currency mix.
</blockquote>
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Busisa Moyo, chief executive of United Refineries, who is also the chairman of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company (ZITF) said:
<blockquote>
This is a positive development for corporates &amp; economic actors. Prior to this USD could only have a tenure of up to 30 June 2025 or earlier.
The work of a dignified, fungible &amp; stable local currency ZWL or ZWX still remains to be mapped out carefully &amp; effectively.
</blockquote>
Former banker and businessman, Nigel Chanakira, wrote on the X platform:
<blockquote>
Perhaps now the banks can commence business and give six-year loans &amp; mortgages in US dollars. Government may also be able to issue six-year debt instruments and allow the market to create a 1-6 year yield curve.
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Zimbabwe’s multi-currency system is dominated by the United States dollar and economists say nearly 80 percent of local transactions are in US dollars.
Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency (Zimbabwe Dollar) in 2009, opting instead to use foreign currencies, mostly the United States dollar and South African Rand.
The government reintroduced the local currency in 2019, but it rapidly lost value again, necessitating the reintroduction of a multi-currency system.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Captains Of Industry Welcome Extension Of Multi-currency System To 2030

Economist Eddie Cross, who is also President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s biographer, said the “gold-backed tokens” issued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), is “a currency without any real support”.
The central bank recently availed the gold-backed digital currency, also known as Zimbabwean Gold (ZiG), for domestic transactions and also to be used as a store of value.
But writing on his <a href="https://www.eddiecross.africanherd.com/231015.html">website</a>, Cross, a former member of the RBZ’s Monetary Policy Committee, said Zimbabwe does not have any significant gold reserves to back the currency.
Cross said he has gathered that the first sale of the tokens was taken up entirely in local RTGS dollars.
He said he agreed with President Emmerson Mnangagwa that no country had been able to develop its own economy without using its own currency.
Mnangagwa recently said Zimbabwe will ditch the multi-currency regime and revert to the use of a local currency but for Cross, “The question is how to affect the transition from what we have now and what has to prevail once the deed is done….” He wrote:
<blockquote>
First, we have to have an alternative… In my view, we will have a new currency printed and this must be equal to about 15 percent of all such transactions in the market.
We should still encourage the use of electronic means to settle, but as a developing country with a large informal economy, we need cash.
Secondly, we need to protect the Nostro account system and allow people to bank real dollars into these accounts which should then be accepted as ‘free funds’ and to be available for individuals and companies to settle external liabilities.
This will allow people with US in cash to bank this and not lose access to USD or Rand for specific purposes. These balances should not be touchable.
Thirdly, we need to abandon exchange control on all current account transactions. This was done in 2009 when we dollarised but we need to recognise that exchange control is not appropriate in a free market economy.
Fourthly, we have to have a completely free market for all hard currency needs. Any Zimbabwean who needs currency should be able to buy what they want at their banks and Bureau du Changes, at the market price of the day.
All hard currency inflows, except personal transactions such as remittances, must be converted by the Banks into the new local currency at a real market price, based on supply and demand.
Fifthly, we need to demonetise all foreign currencies for local transactions. That means that foreign currencies will no longer be acceptable in local markets, taxi fares, hotels, service payments, taxes and all other local payments people have to make must be conducted in local currency.
That means that retailers and all others are going to have to have confidence in our currency and that means discipline in the monetary system. It also means that our local currency must be convertible into hard currency on demand.
That’s a tough list of basic decisions that need to be made to support the basic decision to re-introduce our own currency.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe currently uses a multi-currency monetary policy regime, which allows the use of foreign currencies namely the US dollar and South African Rand in domestic transactions alongside the Zimbabwe dollar.
According to Statutory Instrument (SI) 118A of 2022, the local currency and a basket of foreign currencies shall be in use until December 2025.
The SI which introduced the multi-currency regime is titled Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Exchange Control Act) Regulations 2022.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Reintroduction Of A Local Currency: Tough Decisions Have To Be Made, Says Eddie Cross

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that Zimbabwe will revert to the use of the local currency as the sole legal tender and dump the multi-currency regime to accelerate economic growth.
According to Statutory Instrument (SI) 118A of 2022, the local currency and a basket of foreign currencies shall be in use until December 2025.
The SI which introduced the multi-currency regime is titled Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Exchange Control Act) Regulations 2022.
Addressing delegates to the 9th CEO Africa Roundtable Conference in Victoria Falls on Thursday, 12 October, Mnangagwa said the country should revert to the exclusive use of the local currency even if it may cause suffering for some time. The <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/zim-to-revert-to-local-currency/">Chronicle</a> quoted him as saying:
<blockquote>
In 2009, our domestic currency collapsed and our former President Mugabe appointed a committee of five people which I chaired to look into the currency issue.
We agreed that for us to survive we had to create a basket of currencies and allow our currency to die.
It could have been a wrong decision but that is what happened in 2009. We allowed the basket of currencies and that saved the economy, and we went in that situation for a long time.
So, we decided to introduce our own currency but still our currency continues to be fought.
However, we have to go through this cycle where as a country we must have a currency that we call our own.
We must bite the bullet, whether it gives us some suffering for a period, we shall proceed to have our own currency, not a situation where the economy has a regime of currencies in use, we want a single currency and we are going there.
</blockquote>
Mnangagwa made the remarks while responding to participants at the 9th CEO Africa Roundtable Conference who inquired about the way forward in view of the projected expiry of the multi-currency regime in 2025.
Reports indicate that the US dollar now accounts for over 76 percent of domestic transactions.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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