Mugabe okays ‘funny money’

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has side-stepped parliament to issue a decree clearing the way for the introduction of “bond notes” that have raised fears of a return to a domestic currency abandoned in 2009 as hyperinflation crippled the economy.

The bond notes are meant to ease cash shortages that have gripped the nation since March.

Mugabe late on Monday used his presidential powers to amend the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, designating bond notes as legal tender that will be equivalent to the US dollar, according to an official government notice.

Mugabe said bond notes, which he has previously called surrogate currency, “shall be legal tender in all transactions in Zimbabwe” just like the US dollar, British sterling pound and South African rand, which are also used in the country.

Former finance minister and opposition leader Tendai Biti said Mugabe’s decree was illegal. Reuters