Harare – President Robert Mugabe has hinted that he would
prefer the adoption of the rand in Zimbabwe despite the reluctance to adopt the
currency from his government.
Mugabe, who turned 93 on Tuesday, said in a televised
interview to mark his birthday that he had asked Finance Minister Patrick
Chinamasa and central bank governor John Mangudya to explore use of the rand in
Zimbabwe.
“We are in a multiple currency system. I don’t know why
the finance minister and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor had not wanted
to use other currencies such as the rand, the euro or the yen. They say we are
going to do it,” said Mugabe.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has also
insisted that Zimbabwe should use the rand to ease off liquidity challenges for
manufacturing companies. A treasury official said the department had decided
against full adoption of the rand because of fluctuations in value over the
past few years.
Tourism incentive
Mangudya has previously said that the process to adopt
the rand for use was cumbersome as it required that Zimbabwe first put into
circulation its own currency.
The central bank last December introduced bond notes “
with equal value to the US dollar” but these have not helped ease the cash
crunch in the country.
But strengthening tourism ties with South Africa has also
prompted for incentives for usage or adoption of the rand, with tourism
minister Walter Mzembi saying: “Measures to incentivise rand acceptance as
transactional currency in the tourism sector”would boost the industry and the
economy
Figures released by Statistics South Africa this week
show that Zimbabwe was a major market for African tourist arrivals in South Africa
last year. SA was also a major hub through which international tourist arrivals
into Zimbabwe are facilitated and processed.
Mugabe has also blamed Zimbabweans for hoarding money
instead of depositing it in the banks. But he said this was because there was
no confidence in the financial sector.