Zimbabwe Introduces New Currency, Angering Everyone
- Central bank notes seen as return of hated Zimbabwe dollar
- Country crippled by excessive imports, business lobby says
A man holds a handful of 5 Billion Zimbabwean dollar notes, in Harare.
Photographer: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP PhotoA new currency printed by Zimbabwe’s central bank to ease a cash shortage has drawn scorn from critics attacking it as signaling a return to the hated local dollar, abandoned seven years ago as inflation spiraled to 500 billion percent.
The central bank will distribute units with face values ranging from two to 20 dollars, pegged to the U.S. currency, Governor John Mangudya said Wednesday, describing them as “bond notes” that add to bond coins already in circulation. Banks have limited cash withdrawals and shut down some ATMs in Zimbabwe, where residents use a mix of currencies including the greenback, yuan and South African rand. Mangudya didn’t specify how the value of the notes would be guaranteed.