Fresh resistance against bond notes introduction

The battle to block the introduction of bond notes into the local economy is far from over after a top rights group has announced a fresh challenge against the much loathed currency.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) youth committee Wednesday announced the launch of its #SayNoToBondNotes campaign which is intended at educating locals on why they should reject the surrogate currency.

The campaign will see the group try to simplify some of the complex economic issues to the understanding of the ordinary man.

The group fears the virtual return of the long discarded Zim-dollar will plunge the country into deeper economic turmoil.

The campaign is coupled with the mounting a court challenge against President Robert Mugabe’s unpopular decision to gazette the introduction of the bond note, a thing they say was unconstitutional.

“We maintain that the cash shortages in Zimbabwe are symptoms of policy failure and that the Government of Zimbabwe should address the economic fundamentals first that include competitiveness, anti-developmental corruption, the high costs of production and revisit the investment laws including the indigenisation framework,” Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said in a statement.

Among some of the reasons cited in resisting bond notes are that “there are limited accountability channels available to citizens to monitor the activities of the RBZ on printing Bond notes raising questions on what measures are in place to ensure that the Government of Zimbabwe will not print bond notes exceeding the 200million dollar facility”.

“If the bond note is an export incentive,” CiZC continues, “we do not believe that the 5% incentive should be printed in bond notes but instead the government should consider an investment interest return that is credited to account holders without essentially printing money.

“We are wary on the security behind the printing of the bond note given reports that already counterfeit notes have circulated despite the fact that the specimen have not been formally circulated to members of the public.

“The introduction of bond notes will see the resurfacing of a parallel currency exchange market and in the interim shortages of basic commodities.”

The current Zanu PF led government presses ahead with the introduction of the currency with central bank governor John Mangudya saying their introduction was almost imminent.

Mangudya insists the bond notes introduction was a measure aimed at incentivising Zimbabweans exports and far from being a ploy by the beleaguered Harare regime to sneak back the Zim-dollar. Radio VOP