President Emmerson Mnangagwa has stated that Zimbabwe cannot develop if it continues to use currencies of other nations.
It was the country’s intention therefore, to re-introduce its own currency when the conditions become ripe.
The president said his government has adopted policies that will result in the re-introduction of a local currency, as it is the only way for the country to develop, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported.
Zimbabwe dumped its own currency in 2009, after it had been rendered worthless by a decade of hyperinflation, and adopted use of multiple currencies.
Mnangagwa said the multi-currency regime had been adopted to deal with the hyper-inflation experienced between 2008 and 2009, but should not be maintained going into the future.
“Between 2008 and 2009, our country’s currency lost value and some people became billionaires or trillionaires due to high inflation,” the president said.
“At the time, government decided to adopt the multi-currency regime, where we started using the U.S. dollar, South African Rand, the British Pound and Botswana Pula for transactions.
“It was a policy measure to address the challenges that were being faced then. We, however, cannot continue going forward without our own currency.”
He added that the country would not develop if it continues to use other nations’ currencies.
“A currency is only printed by its owners and the only way to get (foreign currency) is through exports, diaspora remittances or foreign investments, but as a country, we should have our own currency and we have embarked on that journey,” he said.
He added that when the local currency is re-introduced, it would no longer be possible to use foreign currency while transacting locally. –Xinhua
