Zimbabwe government concedes bond notes are not equal to dollars
Zimbabwe central bank orders commercial banks to separate bond-note accounts from those containing foreign currency
Harare — Zimbabwe’s central bank finally conceded on Monday that its controversial bond notes, which were initially pegged at the same value as the dollar are not equal to the greenback. This, after it directed banks to open separate accounts for local and foreign currencies in a fresh attempt to solve the country’s cash crisis. The move was part of a host of policy reforms announced by central-bank governor John Mangudya to address the country’s liquidity crisis which has seen a shortage of cash in banks, while US dollars, the South African rand and bond notes are easily available through street dealers. Bond notes are a controversial surrogate currency first introduced in 2016 as an export incentive, pegged to the value of the US dollar but this has become an untenable situation that has created widespread trading of foreign currency on the streets, where the rand and the US fetch high premiums in exchange for bond notes, which are used for day-to-day transactions. Millions of Zim...
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