Business / Local
Bond coins under spotlight again
20 Mar 2015 at 09:24hrs | Views
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce will next week hold a Bond Coins discussion forum in Harare to interrogate the introduction of the coins and gauge the public response.
According to ZNCC, the objective is to demystify the prevailing perception that the bond coins are an indirect way to bring back the Zim Dollar.
"To push for a market wide revision for most commodity prices given that they were over-priced due to absence of change and to assist the central bank's consumer rise and shine campaign and encourage the use of the coins,' said ZNCC.
ZNCC is targeting ten Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, RBZ, Retailers Association of Zimbabwe and interested business leaders. A LOCAL consumer watchdog, Poverty Reduction Forum Trust (PRTF), has said the newly-introduced bond coins have eased small-value transactions, but made no significant impact on household expenditures driven by accommodation and utility prices.
Late last year, the RBZ injected minted coins imported from South Africa in denominations 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents.
However, in its February report accompanying PRTF's January 2015 Basic Needs Basket (BNB), the trust's executive director Judith Kaulem said the benefits that could have been derived from the introduction of the bond coins were being eroded by increasing unemployment and high household expenditure drivers.
"The policy benefits can be very short term in nature if there are no long-term solutions to critical problems of employment and uncertainty of income streams," Kaulen said.
According to ZNCC, the objective is to demystify the prevailing perception that the bond coins are an indirect way to bring back the Zim Dollar.
"To push for a market wide revision for most commodity prices given that they were over-priced due to absence of change and to assist the central bank's consumer rise and shine campaign and encourage the use of the coins,' said ZNCC.
ZNCC is targeting ten Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, RBZ, Retailers Association of Zimbabwe and interested business leaders. A LOCAL consumer watchdog, Poverty Reduction Forum Trust (PRTF), has said the newly-introduced bond coins have eased small-value transactions, but made no significant impact on household expenditures driven by accommodation and utility prices.
Late last year, the RBZ injected minted coins imported from South Africa in denominations 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents.
However, in its February report accompanying PRTF's January 2015 Basic Needs Basket (BNB), the trust's executive director Judith Kaulem said the benefits that could have been derived from the introduction of the bond coins were being eroded by increasing unemployment and high household expenditure drivers.
"The policy benefits can be very short term in nature if there are no long-term solutions to critical problems of employment and uncertainty of income streams," Kaulen said.
Source - Byo24News
