Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to introduce a new national currency, 10 years after hyperinflation rendered the Zimbabwean dollar worthless.
“As a country we should have our own currency. We have already started that journey,” Mnangagwa said.
“A country cannot develop using other countries’ currencies, without its own currency”
Since the hyperinflation hit, the country has used US dollars, the South African rand and most recently two local quasi-currencies that have fallen sharply in value.
He acknowledged that the two local quasi-currencies, called bond notes and RTGS, were weakening rapidly.
“You sleep today with the rate at one US dollars to five… and the next morning it’s a one to six, one to seven, one to eight and so forth.”
Zimbabwe’s economy has been in ruins since hyperinflation peaked at 500 billion percent and wiped out savings under President Robert Mugabe.
It is undergoing another bout of price rises and shortages of fuel and daily essentials, with inflation currently more than 75 percent, putting basic goods beyond the reach of many Zimbabweans.
He however did not give a timeline of when the new currency would be rolled out.
