ZWL here to stay, let that sink in your head – says defiant Mnangagwa

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has vowed that the free-falling ZWL currency is not going anywhere and is here to stay. His remarks are contained in snippets of an interview by Third Eye and Brick by Brick magazine that is yet be broadcast.

“Sanctions have succeeded in destroying the Zimbabwean currency. Carrying ZWL$2 billion to buy a loaf of bread was not feasible that is why we abandoned it and allowed multiple currencies to operate and that stabilised our situation (in 2009),” said Mnangagwa.

“There is no country that can develop without its own currency, so (have) we reached a stage now where we have our currency that is under serious attack.

“What we might do is legislate against foreign currencies to make sure we use our own currency. Our people must know our currency is there to stay, it must stick. Foreign currencies are not here to stay.”

The Zimbabwe dollar (ZWL) continues to depreciate uncontrollably, with the parallel market rate double that of the central bank amid severely dwindled foreign currency inflows.

Attempts by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Dr John Mangudya to introduce gold coins and a gold backed digital currency have not helped arrest the crisis.

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has savaged the policies being pursued by Mnangagwa’s government.

“We have consistently argued that de-dollarisation has failed and therefore government needs to dollarise while floating the ZWL, anything short of this will not work,” he said recently.

“We have also argued that the Central Bank has gone rogue and needs to be replaced by a currency board. The new measures will not stop RBZ from conducting quasi-fiscal activities or its illicit gold dealings.

“We say to them again dollarise and float the ZWL, scrap export surrender requirements and the auction system, pay workers and pensions in USDs, pursue fiscal consolidation, deal with corruption, deal with infrastructure, decarbonise and most importantly have a free and fair election.”