Zimbabwe could have a new currency before the end of September, the timeline the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) for Amendment of the RBZ Act which gave birth to the RTGS Electronic Dollars Regulations of 2019 (SI 33) expires, a local economic analyst has said.
In an opinion piece titled Zimbabwe’s currency reforms dilemma, Victor Bhoroma said the introduction of the impending currency is largely necessitated by the fact that the legal instrument used to introduce the RTGS Dollar is temporary with a specific timeline of six months from the day of proclamation by the office of the President.
“In principle therefore, Zimbabwe would need to have a local currency before the end of September 2019,” wrote Bhoroma.
He added that government is now faced with a currency reform dilemma with questions on whether any currency can save the Zimbabwean economy without addressing key macro-economic fundamentals including low market confidence, rampant corruption and low production capacity which will lead to recurring trade deficits.
“The fundamentals that need urgent attention include; Efforts to build confidence in the economy and in RBZ as a monitory authority, dealing with high government expenditure (Average budget deficit of $2.3 billion from 2016 to 2018), dealing with rampant corruption, low agricultural and industrial production capacity which leads to recurring trade deficits and clearing foreign debt arrears through adhering to payment plans,” added Bhoroma.
