The World Bank has blamed the government for creating the current cash crisis through its abuse of Treasury Bills and the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system. A report by the World Bank says that cash started to deplete in 2012 when the government started injecting Treasury Bills (TBs). This resulted in a form of uncontrolled money printing through the RTGS system which drove real money out of the system and replaced it with electronic money which can only be used for virtual platforms.
Global advisory firm, Exotix Capital Partners also said the same thing last year.
As the principal and interest payments on these government securities are settled on the RTGS (real time gross settlement), it is clear that the government has been using the issuance of this debt to effectively print money. This money printed and placed in the RTGS has helped keep the RBZ liquid in ‘local US dollars’
Said the World Bank,
Most of the Treasury bills were eventually bought by commercial banks at discounted rates. While this boosted the profitability of banks in the short term, the scale of the borrowing resulted in liquidity shortages across the financial sector. In response, banks placed daily restrictions on cash withdrawals, while the RBZ issued bond notes since November 28, 2016 and promoted the use of mobile payments,
More: Financial Gazette