Bond notes are coming. That is the reality.
That bond notes are coming need not have a fear-inducing portentous ring to it. Many have tried, are still trying, to create panic around this issue.
There is an active attempt to sabotage the initiative before it is even launched, a sort of abortion of hope at a time people should be concentrating on solutions rather than self-destructive political showmanship.
The merchants of doom are peddling the claim that the bond notes will be devalued immediately upon introduction and that a black market for United States dollars will flourish.
They also tell us that bond notes will result in shortages of basic goods on shop shelves because retailers will not be able to import, primarily from South Africa.
Another favourite claim is that Government will force the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to print more and more bond notes, until the total value exceeds that of the US$200 million facility provided by the African Export-Import Bank.
The result, we are told, will be a return to the mess of 2007/8.
The fear-mongers have been quite clever. They have latched onto the genuine concern ordinary citizens, the business community and the nation at large have for a return to those dark days of financial decline.
And some sections of the media have bought into this, taking the people’s fear and feeding it so that it hopefully becomes a monster that chews the bond notes and spits them out.
But to what end? Who benefits from the failure of bond notes? The answer is simple: no one.
Not one Zimbabwean citizen, not one company operating in this country, not one Government department stands to gain anything meaningful or sustainable from the failure of a national programme meant to improve the economy.
No one will get an extra meal on their table because bond notes have failed. No company will create an extra job because bond notes have failed. No Government department will offer a better service because bond notes have failed.
The failure of bond notes will hurt us, and hurt us bad at that.
Those praying for the failure of bond notes are no different from those who ask for economic sanctions on their own country.
Instead of focusing on doom and feeding fear, let us apply our minds to the facts.
Zimbabwe does not print US dollars. We largely rely on exports, Diaspora remittances, foreign direct investment, aid and lines of credit to get hard currency.
As we all know, FDI is not where we would want it to be. We also all know that lines of credit have been seriously limited by sanctions, and that aid brings very little real cash into an economy.
Consequently, Zimbabwe simply does not have enough US dollars to run its economy as it should.
Why then should we fight proposals that seek to bring solutions?
Secondly, the total value of bond notes is backed by an international facility. It will not exceed US$200 million.
Zimbabwe’s GDP, depending on whose estimate one prefers, stands at between US$6 billion and US$12 billion.
This means bond notes will represent anything between 0,01 percent and 0,03 percent of GDP.
If that causes inflation, if that creates a black market, if that causes food shortages, then Mbuya Nehanda was the Pope.
Further, the bond notes are coming in denominations of two bond and five bond (pegged equivalent to US dollars and American coinage).
This will help facilitate small cash transactions, with the reality calling for greater use of plastic money.
More broadly, bond notes will fund an export bonus scheme. This is to give exporters up to a five percent bonus for whatever hard currency they bring into the country.
What is in fact required, rather than killing bond notes before they are even born, we must be actually looking at ways of further boosting exports.
The fear that people will be stuck with bond notes when they need US dollars, South African rands or whatever other currency when travelling abroad is neither here nor there.
People should use more plastic money when travelling instead of taking out cash that is so sorely needed back home. If anything, Government must immediately lower the amount of cash a person can cross the border with when leaving Zimbabwe.
And no, bond notes are not an attempt to bring back the Zimbabwean dollar via the back door, whatever that means.
Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya and Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa have said over and over again that the fundamentals needed for reintroduction of the local currency are not there.
Bond notes are an opportunity to start boosting export earnings and stabilising some of the basic things wrong with our economy.
Zimbabweans must start to give themselves a chance.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: We should give ourselves a chance
The Sunday Mail
Bond notes are coming. That is the reality.
That bond notes are coming need not have a fear-inducing portentous ring to it. Many have tried, are still trying, to create panic around this issue.
There is an active attempt to sabotage the initiative before it is even launched, a sort of abortion of hope at a time people should be concentrating on solutions rather than self-destructive political showmanship.
The merchants of doom are peddling the claim that the bond notes will be devalued immediately upon introduction and that a black market for United States dollars will flourish.
They also tell us that bond notes will result in shortages of basic goods on shop shelves because retailers will not be able to import, primarily from South Africa.
Another favourite claim is that Government will force the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to print more and more bond notes, until the total value exceeds that of the US$200 million facility provided by the African Export-Import Bank.
The result, we are told, will be a return to the mess of 2007/8.
The fear-mongers have been quite clever. They have latched onto the genuine concern ordinary citizens, the business community and the nation at large have for a return to those dark days of financial decline.
And some sections of the media have bought into this, taking the people’s fear and feeding it so that it hopefully becomes a monster that chews the bond notes and spits them out.
But to what end? Who benefits from the failure of bond notes? The answer is simple: no one.
Not one Zimbabwean citizen, not one company operating in this country, not one Government department stands to gain anything meaningful or sustainable from the failure of a national programme meant to improve the economy.
No one will get an extra meal on their table because bond notes have failed. No company will create an extra job because bond notes have failed. No Government department will offer a better service because bond notes have failed.
The failure of bond notes will hurt us, and hurt us bad at that.
Those praying for the failure of bond notes are no different from those who ask for economic sanctions on their own country.
Instead of focusing on doom and feeding fear, let us apply our minds to the facts.
Zimbabwe does not print US dollars. We largely rely on exports, Diaspora remittances, foreign direct investment, aid and lines of credit to get hard currency.
As we all know, FDI is not where we would want it to be. We also all know that lines of credit have been seriously limited by sanctions, and that aid brings very little real cash into an economy.
Consequently, Zimbabwe simply does not have enough US dollars to run its economy as it should.
Why then should we fight proposals that seek to bring solutions?
Secondly, the total value of bond notes is backed by an international facility. It will not exceed US$200 million.
Zimbabwe’s GDP, depending on whose estimate one prefers, stands at between US$6 billion and US$12 billion.
This means bond notes will represent anything between 0,01 percent and 0,03 percent of GDP.
If that causes inflation, if that creates a black market, if that causes food shortages, then Mbuya Nehanda was the Pope.
Further, the bond notes are coming in denominations of two bond and five bond (pegged equivalent to US dollars and American coinage).
This will help facilitate small cash transactions, with the reality calling for greater use of plastic money.
More broadly, bond notes will fund an export bonus scheme. This is to give exporters up to a five percent bonus for whatever hard currency they bring into the country.
What is in fact required, rather than killing bond notes before they are even born, we must be actually looking at ways of further boosting exports.
The fear that people will be stuck with bond notes when they need US dollars, South African rands or whatever other currency when travelling abroad is neither here nor there.
People should use more plastic money when travelling instead of taking out cash that is so sorely needed back home. If anything, Government must immediately lower the amount of cash a person can cross the border with when leaving Zimbabwe.
And no, bond notes are not an attempt to bring back the Zimbabwean dollar via the back door, whatever that means.
Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya and Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa have said over and over again that the fundamentals needed for reintroduction of the local currency are not there.
Bond notes are an opportunity to start boosting export earnings and stabilising some of the basic things wrong with our economy.
Zimbabweans must start to give themselves a chance.
Cartoon:
Share This:
More Stories: