The story about government introducing a new currency has been marked by twists and turns. Initially, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube himself mentioned that a new currency in the form of new notes and coins will be introduced.
And over a month later, Eddie Cross, who happens to sit on the Monetary Policy Committee, confirmed that the new currency will debut in November. However, a day later the government distanced itself from Eddie Cross’s statement.
Now RBZ deputy director for finance and markets, William Manimhanzi has revealed that new notes will be introduced in a “few months” time. As reported by Newsday, Mr Manimhanzi said:
There are currency reforms that have taken place over the past few months and we have been working on ways to try and ameliorate the current cash shortages…..
I am not privy to the dates, but what is happening is that new notes will be available soon so that they meet the required cash demands. Obviously, these notes are going to be printed outside the country and this requires foreign exchange. That is all I can say at the moment – but maybe in a few months — I do not know exactly when, but those new notes will be available.
This comes on the heels of a promise by the RBZ to pump more cash into the economy to curb cash shortages which had turned mobile money agents into ‘cash traders’.
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