New Notes Fail To End Cash Shortages
The introduction of new notes by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last month has failed to end the cash crisis that has been bedevilling the country for several years.
Long winding queues are still the order of the day at various banks in Harare, with depositors allowed to withdraw a maximum of $100.00 which has already been decimated by runaway inflation.
An independent economist, Kudakwashe Machere told Zim Morning Post that the government should simply dollarise. He said:
Introducing new currency when people do not have faith in the banking sector is trying to plant tobacco in a desert, you will not get any result.
The persistent cash shortages at banks continue at a time when cash barons sell crisp new notes in the streets without any hindrance.
Cash has been extremely scarce for many years with the RBZ governor John Panonetsa Mangudya introducing the bond notes in 2016 and the surrogate currency has now morphed into the new currency.