Tag: Bond Notes
The RBZ announces interest rates for deposits, it’s too little too late
It’s a well-known fact, the only bank Zimbabweans will trust with their hard-earned money is the National Mattress Bank-NMB. The fact that there is actually a bank called NMB is of course coincidental but still part of the joke. What is not a joke is the suffering we have endured at the hands of Zimbabwe’s […]
RBZ adds ZWL$64 million into circulation
The Reserve Bank has added more bond notes into circulation. The most recent increase came on the 19th of June where they injected ZWL$64 million. This raised the hard currency in circulation from ZWL$ 1,552 billion to 1,661 billion. The central bank has been cautious in injecting more because there isn’t any confidence in the […]
Zimbabwe Printing And Pumping Money Into A Fragile Economy
The Zimbabwe ministry of finance and central bank have been promising more bank notes for some time now. Currently the only notes in circulation (besides the sometimes legal, sometimes illegal USD notes) are $2 and $5 notes which are worth about 4 and 10 American cents currently or 8 and 20 American cents respectively if […]
The 5 Lives Of Bond Notes/Coins, Tracing Their Incredible Journey
Bond notes and bond coins were introduced in 2014 and since then they have lived 5 lives compared to the 9 lives cats are proverbial for. Without further ado, lets trace the incredible journey they have made thus far. Bond coins as change After multicurrency system everything was good currency-wise . We were in paradise. […]
5 More Years Of Mangudya As President Mnangagwa Grants RBZ Governor Another Term
John Mangudya’s tenure as RBZ will not be coming to an end as most wanted. Instead, the RBZ announced that he will be getting a new 5-year term in office. If you don’t like the guy for whatever reason, you’re stuck with him for the foreseeable future. The Cabinet Secretary Misheck Sibanda released the following […]
Nostro FCA My Foot, My Money Is Better Off Under My Mattress
So the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the banks that he presides over and the government that employs him are telling us to trust them again. We are foolish to do so if we do. First there’s been no admission of guilt None of these guys have admitted that they robbed us. […]
Dear RBZ There Is Still A Currency Problem In Zimbabwe
This last Friday I found myself in South Africa and is wont to happen I struck a conversion with one of the Zimbabwean expats who live there. Naturally, these talks tend to quickly veer to politics and the economic situation back home. You cannot touch it! “We heard you have new money,” the lady inquired, […]
The Government Stole Our USD, There Is No Denying It Now
Well, the Zimbabwean government has now been finally forced to admit what we have known all along: Bond notes are not equal to real US dollars despite what the law says (or used to say). Nor are RTGS balances that now flood our accounts equal to US dollars. We all know that. We have known […]
Review: Monetary Policy February 2019, We Give It A 53%
Yesterday the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe delivered his first Monetary Policy Statement of 2019. This was one of the most awaited statements to date. That in itself is a tell tale sign of where we are in our economy, the last time a monetary policy statement delivery stopped every show in Zimbabwe […]
Local Nostro Settlement System To Go Live Soon
While parsing the latest Monetary Policy statement from the RBZ something caught my eye: hidden beneath the exciting announcement that the RBZ has finally found Jesus and accepts bond notes, RTGS and USD are not equal peers, was the announcement of a local settlement platform. This was announced a few weeks ago A few weeks […]
The RBZ Pours Jecha On The Forex Black Market
When John Mangudya announced that he was going to introduce bond notes in addition to the already circulating bond coins back in 2016 people were not amused. In fact, there were protests and individuals like Evan Mawarire came into infamy and were arrested and charged with all manner of crimes. The bone of contention At […]
Soft Copy: Zimbabwe Monetary Policy 2019 Presented By John Mangudya
The much awaited monetary policy statement presentation has come and gone in a few minutes. The document was not available for download on time so we transcribed some of the text below. However, we now have the PDF which you can download here. Establishment of an Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market The Bank has taken note […]
Mangudya Throws In The Towel As The RBZ Floats The Bond But Avoids Dollarisation
As we have mentioned in an early article, the government has finally abandoned the 1:1 ship. Bond notes, coins, Ecocash, Telecash and bank balances are now known as RTGS dollars. Personally, I think he should have just called them bollars like the rest of us but at least the governor is on the right track. […]
The RBZ Is Going To Devalue The Bond Today: Bloomberg
As we have pointed out elsewhere, according to the law, the RBZ’s 2019 monetary policy is long overdue. In its absence, a lot of rumours have been doing rounds with some suggesting the Monetary and Fiscal authorities are actually fighting and not seeing eye to eye. A report that both said authorities have strenuously denied. […]
RBZ Should Be Shut Down – Former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti
After claiming that the government was planning to introduce a new currency, Former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti is now even calling for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to be closed down as it is the source of the current economic problems. As justification for his assertion, Mr. Biti said that during his tenure as […]
There Is More To An Economy Than The Value Of Bond Notes
My colleague has already delivered his rebuttal to Mr Eddie Cross’s claim that the bond note is the strongest currency in Southern Africa. In this article I am going to deliver my own rejoinder to the assertion by Mr Cross that because the bond note is stronger than all the other currencies in this region […]
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Is Right: It’s True Dollarisation Is Bad For Our Economy
It is not a secret that I am not a fan of the current government’s economic policies and choices. I especially find it reprehensible that they continue to avoid solving the prevailing currency crisis choosing to focus instead on bizarre projects such as building a new capital city- talk about fiddling while Rome is burning. […]
Hello Darkness: 2019 Preview
According to Zimbabwe’s largest daily, The Herald, Zimbabweans are very optimistic about the country’s economic prospects in 2019. That’s the thing about stuff you see in the Herald- always assume the opposite of whatever you read is true and this is no exception. 2019 is going to be tougher than 2018 and Zimbabweans have been […]
Treat All Zimbabwean Financial Results With Extreme Caution
All of the accountants I know, have noted with concern the rise in a lot of businesses reporting seemingly massive profits in US dollars. When compared to last year’s earnings, there is a misleading impression that these entities are performing better than they did last year. There are a lot of businesses out there whose […]
Gvt Drafting Law Which Compels Businesses That Receive Forex From RBZ To Accept Payments In Bond Notes, Says ED
Yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the government is crafting a new law which will compel businesses that get forex from the central bank to sell their products locally in bond notes. Speaking in Kadoma, he said; ………On the other hand they come to queue for foreign currency at the Reserve Bank to buy these drugs from […]
RBZ Says They Dont Know Where RTGS Balances Are Coming From; Can They Fix The Economy Then?
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says it doesn’t know where the RTGS balances are coming from. This is the central bank we are talking about and they don’t know where 95.5% of the supposed ‘money’ we are using is coming from. How ironic. Speaking about this phenomenon, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr. John […]
Mr President, Sir, You And Your Government Need To Pull Your Heads From The Sand
So my colleagues think that somehow 2008 is back. I couldn’t disagree more for while 2008 was the apex of our demise, the years 1992- 2007 saw our government dragging us up mount Moriah edging us closer to our economic death. We are closer to 2004-6 now than 2008. I am not saying things anywhere […]
rate.co.zw Gives Hourly Updates Of Current Forex Rates
Right now our economy seems to be revolving solely on what is happening in the foreign currency markets. Shops are increasing prices because the forex they need to stock is available on a drip-feed and thus everyone else is pricing upwards or exclusively in USD. Because this is the case, keeping up with the USD […]
It’s Official, 2008 Is Back. Vice President Announces Price Controls
Vice President Kembo Mohadi has issued the riot act against businesses for ‘overpricing.’ I cannot pretend this doesn’t send a chill down my spine. This is deja vu except it’s not a feeling that this happened before, this actually happened before! Where were you? The Americans have this thing were they ask each other where […]
The Great Contradiction: Mthuli Ncube’s New Transaction Tax Is Accelerating Us Back To The Past
So the big news yesterday was something we have always known but that Mangudya finally admitted: the USD is not equal to bond notes which are not equal to money that is in electronic circulation in Zimbabwe. The second biggest news was that the government is now dipping it’s fingers and getting 2% of the […]
Full Mthuli Ncube Statement On Proposed Fiscal Reforms To Bring Zimbabwe Finances Under Control
Below is statement by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof Mthuli Ncube: Introduction 1. The economy is showing signs of recovery albeit with a number of challenges and risks. Indications are that, the economy will grow by 6.3% against the original Budget projection of 4.5% and 4.8% estimated for 2017. With this projected […]
Banks Given Two Weeks To Separate Nostro US Dollar Accounts And Local RTGS/Bond Accounts
The major highlight of today’s monetary policy statement was the directive that banks must now separate the Nostro foreign accounts and local RTGS or Bond with effect from 15 October 2018. What it means This means that unofficially Zimbabwe has two currencies, that’s US dollars and RTGS/Bond. Consequently, banks will allow depositors to hold separate accounts […]
Prices Now Valid For 24 Hours In Certain Shops As Bond To USD Rate Spikes
Over the past two weeks the Bond/USD rate has spiked from around fifty-something percent to over a 100% and the shops are beginning to react. This most recent spike places sellers between a rock and a hard place because they have to price their goods accordingly and these prices may not look appealing to buyers. […]
Mthuli Ncube, The Runaway USD/Bond Exchange Rate, The EcoCash Riot Act And Progress Backwards
No doubt Mthuli Ncube is the man on the spotlight in Zimbabwe right now. Some are wishing him to do magic, some hope he fails for their own selfish reasons and there aren’t many in the middle. No doubt there is a currency crisis in Zimbabwe right now. Most would describe coming across any small […]
Expect More Cash From Banks As RBZ Instructs Banks To Pass Cash To Customers
The central bank, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has told people to expect more physical cash (cash), to withdraw, as it will be injecting more foreign currency into the financial sector in the foreseeable future. The move will obviously relieve the acute cash shortages Zimbabwe is experiencing. Zimbabwe has been languishing from cash shortages for a […]