Zimbabwe set to introduce new currency in November, says Official

Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is set to introduce a new currency in November, according to a member of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.

According to reports by The Punch, Eddie Cross, a renowned economist, who made this known in an interview with State broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), said that the new currency would be introduced in a move set to curb current cash shortages in the country.

Recall that the country's last currency, The Zimbabwean Dollar, became moribund in 2009 following a spell of hyper-inflation and was replaced by a basket of multi-currencies which included the U.S. dollar, the British pound, South African rand, Botswana pula, Japanese yen, and the Chinese yuan.

The U.S. dollar remained the dominant currency but became scarce over time and pushed the central bank to introduce bond notes and bond coins in 2016 to plug the resultant cash gap. The value of the bond notes and coins have been falling since their introduction.

However, the government also re-introduced the Zimbabwean dollar in June, although in electronic form, to run at par with the bond notes and RTGS dollars. They also banned the use of foreign currency as units of trade in the country.