Mujuru offside on bond notes

Dr Norman Vincent Peal was correct when he quipped; "the person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around him positively and draws back to himself positive results".

Zimbabwe has been facing liquidity crunch for a long time due to its use of the American dollar which is a reserve currency for almost every country on earth. Most countries, especially in Southern Africa, have recently experienced weakening of their currencies against the US dollar resulting in nationals of these countries flocking to Zimbabwe to siphon the US dollar.

 As an intervention, the Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya mooted the introduction of bond notes in order to fund a five percent bonus export incentive, as well as to improve liquidity in a market that has been hit hard by currency externalisation. This is a positive step that should activate more economic transactions in the country.

In search of relevance, Joice Mujuru, of the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) project, is said to be contemplating litigation against the intended introduction of bond notes which she has nicknamed "tissue paper". The notes will not be tissue paper as they will be backed by a 200 million dollar facility from the African Export and Import Bank. The notes, which will be valued at par with the US dollar, are mainly intended to support the export sector.

The Minister of Finance, Patrick Chinamasa and RBZ Governor, Dr Mangudya, explained in coruscating detail the issue of bond notes at various forums including the house of assembly. Introduction of bond coins, which are also pegged to the US dollar, initially met resistance from some sections of Zimbabwean society but were eventually accepted whilst the South African rand is being rejected due to its volatility. The bond coins came as a big relief to Zimbabweans who felt short changed by retailers as consumers were forced to buy trinkets, which they did not want, due to lack of change. The bond notes will not be similar to bearer cheques which had no backing from the greenback. People will still have a choice between having the US currency, bank notes or even any other currency which includes the rand, yuan, euro and pula.

Zimbabweans are not fools who some opposition formations intend to take for a ride. The opposition formations are so desperate for relevance to the extent that they will rubbish everything the government does including very noble intentions. An opposition political party is not formed just for the sack of opposing everything a sitting government does, but mainly to provide checks and balances as well as to proffer alternative solutions to national problems. What alternative solutions do Mujuru and his colleagues in the opposition have to alleviate the cash shortages currently facing Zimbabweans?

Mujuru is said to have petitioned the courts to rescind Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 which seeks to regulate, and not to ban importation of locally available trinkets like coffee creamers, Camphor creams, white petroleum jellies, body creams, baked beans, potato crisps, cereals, bottled water, peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetables, jam and maheu, claiming that the Instrument will negatively affect the poor people of Zimbabwe.

The Instrument seeks to protect local industries from unfair outside competition. Most of the goods affected by the import regulations are Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products which have negative effects on health. Promoting production and marketing of locally produced goods and services will go a long way in creating employment, which the opposition formations are ironically crying for daily, for Zimbabweans.
The business community, including the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) have welcomed the introduction of bond notes and Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, but Mujuru and her outfit are trying to throw spanners into all noble intentions meant to benefit all Zimbabweans in the long run.

It is a waste of time and resources for misguided elements to organise demonstrations against the intended introduction of bond notes. Instead, Zimbabweans should call upon the monetary authorities to expedite introduction of the notes in order to alleviate the current cash shortages in the economy.