ZCFU bemoans multi-currency system

The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) has described the lack of affordable medium-to long-term loan facilities as having badly impacted on the agricultural sector.

ZCFU president Wonder Chabikwa said here Monday that the government's decision to adopt the multi-currency system in 2009 had resulted in farmers failing to access funding.

Zimbabwe adopted the multi-currency system to curb runway inflation which peaked at 243 million per cent in 2008 and destroyed its local currency. Zimbabwe is the only country in Africa using the United States dollar as its currency.

"We have to get back to our own currency because as long as we are using the multi-currency system we will not get loans," said Chabikwa.

"We cannot develop in a country where there are no medium- and long-term (credit) facilities. When we were using our own currency we had loan facilities of up to 25 years but now because of the multi-currency system no bank can do that."

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last year widened the multi-currency basket and included currencies of China, India, Japan and Australia as legal tender, alongside the greenback, South African Rand, Botswana Pula, the Pound Sterling and the Euro.