RBZ issues ZWL100 banknote as Zim dollar value continues to fall

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has announced the imminent introduction of a ZWL100 banknote amid the gradual loss of value of the local currency.

According to the Statutory Instrument 68A of 2022, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube recommended the introduction of a ZWL100 note.

“The Minister of Finance and Economic Development has hereby, in terms of section 40(3) of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 22:15], made the following notice specifying the matters determined by the President in terms of subsection (2) of that section:

“This notice may be cited as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Issue of One Hundred Dollar Banknote) Notice, 2022,” read the SI.

The design of the note:

“On the front side the dominant feature shall be the logo. of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (three balancing rocks), with the visually impaired recognition feature to the left, latent image showing the denomination, windowed security strip inscribed “RBZ” with colour shift from red to green, watermark with highlighted inscription “RBZ” and see-through of Zimbabwe Bird looking to the left in perfect register, as secondary features; and

“On the back side there shall be an impression of the Great Zimbabwe Monument and the Baobab Tree, gold. coloured iridescent band showing the denomination of the note and see-through of the Zimbabwe Bird looking hofti to the right.”

In 2020, the Zimbabwean government introduced the foreign exchange (FX) auction, a monetary policy instrument through which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe sells or buys foreign currency on the interbank market.

Every week, the Zimbabwean dollar has effectively continued to fall against the US$ and other foreign currencies. The local currency is officially trading at ZWL145 against US$1.

Leader of the Labour, Economists and African Democrats party Linda Masarira said the RBZ had failed to stabilise the rates.

“Prices of basic gods continue to rise. A loaf of bread at Bakers inn now costs ZWL265 approximately US$2 at the official auction rate. It’s evident that RBZ has failed to stabilize the forex rates, there is no sincerity from the government to alleviate the plight of Zimbabweans,” she said.