Zimbabwe central bank to unveil new notes

The Central Bank of Zimbabwe has announced it will introduce some notes and coins in Zimbabwean dollar in the next two weeks.

Central bank governor John Mangudya said Tuesday, this is part of the latest steps to restore the domestic currency.

He said the new money, which consists of 5 dollar and 2 dollar coins, will be introduced gradually to avoid driving up inflation.

The currency will circulate alongside the bond notes and coins introduced in 2016 as a surrogate for U.S dollars, which the country was then mainly using in lieu of its own currency.

Mangudya told reporters after a two-day monetary policy committee meeting that “We thought of being conservative (in introducing low denomination notes and coins) and we will graduate with time.”

It was the first meeting of the MPC since finance minister Mthuli Ncube appointed its members last month.

Zimbabwe is grappling with the worst economic crisis in a decade.

There have been shortages of foreign exchanges, fuel and medicines, three-digit inflation and 18-hour daily power cuts in this Southern African nation.

Reuters