Call for new currency outreach programmes

By Marsha Sengwe

TRADERS – that is suppliers of goods and services, including public transporters, tuckshop owners as well as vegetable vendors want the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to conduct educational road shows on the new ZiG in rural communities and public markets ahead of the currency’s expected availability on April 30.

Already, most of the traders are no longer accepting the RTGS, a situation that has seen most of them halting operations.

The Reserve Bank, in a statement, on Wednesday, however, called on them to continue accepting the Zimbabwe dollar notes until April 30, 2024. The majority of service providers and shops no longer accept Zimbabwe dollar notes, creating a “change crisis”. As a result, prices are now being rounded off to US$1, making goods and services more expensive.

For example, when one wants to buy a mint sweet or cigarette, which usually cost $0.10cents, because of change crisis the consumer is forced to buy more things. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Central Bank Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu, he reiterated that the Zimbabwe dollar remained the country’s legal tender.

The statement reads: “Further to the Reserve Bank’s Press Statement of 6 April 2024 on currency conversion from ZW$ to ZiG, the banking sector and payment service providers have made significant and satisfactory progress, in this regard.

“Commendably, over 90 percent of the banking institutions and mobile bank service providers have successfully configured their systems and processes from ZW$ to ZiG, with banking services now being accessible for the convenience of the transacting public.

“The Reserve Bank is also encouraged by the positive response and enthusiasm from the business community and the public at large to embrace and use ZiG. The Reserve Bank has, however, taken note of the concerns of the public emanating from the rejection of the ZW$ notes to be demonetised, which has resulted in the unavailability of ‘change’, thus forcing businesses, mainly commuter omnibuses to round off prices to US$1.”

It further emphasised that the ZW$ notes currently in circulation were still valid and remained legal tender until April 30, 2024. Meanwhile, the Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe on Thursday, April 11, said most of its members were through with converting the Zimbabwean dollar accounts to ZiG, ahead of their Friday deadline set by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

The association has a membership of 16 banks and 13 were through by Thursday.

This also means that civil servants will get their ZiG salaries effective this month.

It is believed the three banks that were yet to update their system by Thursday, have the largest deposits hence it took long for them to complete the conversion. In a vox pop around Bindura many people were, however, emphasising on the need for public awareness on the features of the ZiG and the current position concerning the use of the RRTGS. One interviewee said: “I would want to know what would then happen to those RTGS l would be having in hand on the day the physical ZiG gets on the market.

“I need to hear this from an authoritative voice, someone from Government, the Ministry of Finance or one of the banks, not street talk.”

Ellen Kapomba a vendor at Kitsiyatota said: “We are happy a new currency is coming, however, in the meantime, while we wait for its public appearance, business is down especially for us who sell small items.

“We are in a difficult situation, we do not know what we will do with the Zimbabwean dollar when ZiG comes. We do not have bank accounts maybe to deposit the money in case banks would want them.

“We, therefore, want at least road shows from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, schooling us on the way forward, because as of now we are accepting the American dollar only.”
The central bank introduced the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, pegged to a specific exchange rate, and backed by gold.