There has been a mad rush for the banks after the government of Zimbabwe announced that it will issue a new unit for business transactions called the Bond Note between August and October this year.
According to the Central Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), the Bond Notes will be printed by a ‘German company’ after the Bank accessed a US$200 million from Afreximbank to back the loan.
Following the announcement of the introduction of the Bond Note, there was public outrage in Harare, with Zimbabweans running to the banks to withdraw their ‘hard dollars’ and saying they were ‘returning to the dark past of Zimbabwe Dollars’.
‘Many fear that Mr Mugabe’s latest decision will trigger economic catastrophe all over again. And they are rushing to withdraw their US dollars from the banks while they still can,’ The Daily Telegraph wrote.
According to the newspaper, the authorities in Zimbabwe have imposed withdrawal limits for as low as US$20, and ‘banned anyone selling a house or business from sending the proceeds out of the country’.
But CBZ Governor John Mangudya has denied the Bond Note will replace the US Dollar as the national currency. Instead, he says, the new currency is to facilitate export business.
Since 2009 when inflation in Zimbabwe reportedly hit the 500 billion mark, sending the citizens in abject poverty, the former Southern African food basket has been using the US Dollar as ‘convertible currency’.
