Zimbabwe To Print Its Own US Dollars

Zimbabwe is introducing its own version of US dollars to deal with its worsening cash crunch. John Mangudya, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, said the bank will introduce “bond notes” of $2, $5, $10, and $20, which will hold the same value as their US dollar counterparts.
Zimbabweans are forming long queues outside banks amid a cash shortage that has prompted the government to announce plans to print a local version of the US dollar and to limit withdrawals.
The government adopted US and South African currencies in 2009 after hyperinflation rendered the national currency unusable as the economy collapsed.
Actually that has made cash shortages in the country worse. “We’re importing more than we’re exporting and we can’t print money because we use mainly the U.S. dollar,” said Sam Malaba, the chief executive officer of Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe.
A recent shortage of foreign notes led Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya to unveil a raft of radical measures on Wednesday, including limiting withdrawals to $1,000 or 20,000 South African rand per day.
Mangudya said that the central bank would also print its own dollar-equivalent bond notes – “which are currently at the design stage” – to ease the cash crunch.
“It is not an overnight process,” Mangudya told the Herald when asked what date the bond notes will be issued. “We are still working on a design which will be sent for printing outside the country. The notes will not be introduced immediately but probably within the next two months.”