Chinamasa silent on bond notes but says multi-currencies to stay

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has said  the use of multi-currencies  will continue until such a time the country is able to  sustain its own  currency.

Chinamasa said this while presenting his  mid-term fiscal policy review statement  in parliament today.

However, he never mentioned the issue of bond notes introduction set for October.

Zimbabwe adopted the multicurrency regime, which has a basket of nine currencies, in 2009 after the economy contracted by 45% amid hyperinflation between 1998 and 2008.

The local currency fell victim to hyperinflation in 2008, by which time Zimbabweans resorted to using the US dollar, rand and the Botswana Pula for buying goods and services.

Chinamasa said Cabinet has approved measures to reform civil service and the  plans could reduce the wage bill by $118 million by the end of the year.

He said civil servants wage bill took up 96.8% of revenue in the first half of the year adding that the wage issue points to a situation where the government will fall short to meet employment costs.

Government external debt is $7,5 billion, arrears accounting for 80% and total government debt is $9,6 billion.