Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana has spoken out on the introduction of a new currency in Zimbabwe.
This comes after economist Eddie Cross said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) would introduce a new currency this year.
Cross, who is also a member of the RBZ Monetary Policy Committee added that the new currency is meant to curb cash shortages in the country.
Zimbabwe abandoned its currency and went for a multi-currency system in 2009 after a hyper-inflation eroded the country’s Dollar and Bearer Cheque a year before the introduction.
Zimbabwe’s last currency, the Zimbabwe dollar, became moribund in 2009 following a spell of hyper-inflation and was replaced by a basket of multi-currencies which included the US dollar, the British pound, South African rand, Botswana pula, Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan.
The secretary in a statement seems not to confirm or deny Cross’s currency pronouncement.
“We would like to make it clear that Mr E. Cross does not speak for the Government of Zimbabwe. Neither does he speak for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ),” Mangwana said.
“His views are personal and not indicative of Government’s policy thrust.”
“The Reserve bank will regularly inject money into the economy in a measured and responsible way,” Mangwana explains.
Discussions on the new currency come at a time when Zimbabwe’s local Dollars continue losing value against the Bond note.
Fears of hyperinflation are already circulating with some economists arguing that the country has the second-highest inflation rate after Venezuela.