‘More information needed on bond notes’

Bianca Mlilo, Business Reporter
THE business community says the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is not doing enough to educate people on how the bond notes will work.

The central bank has announced that bond notes will be introduced at the end of this month. The facility is backed by a $200 million loan secured from the Afreximbank as part of an export incentive strategy meant to boost domestic production.

Contributing during the question and answer session at the 2017 pre-budget consultative forum organised by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) in Bulawayo on Friday, participants said there was no adequate information in the public domain with regards to the bond notes.

As a result of this, they said, most people were living under the illusion that bond notes are coming in to ease cash shortages.

“I must say that the level of information dissemination by the central bank has not been good.

“All this time I thought that the bond notes were coming in to address the cash shortages,” said Mr Velile Dube, a ZNCC member.

Other participants concurred saying the central bank should embark on awareness campaigns to explain the use of bond notes.

Some people have alleged that the bond notes were in fact Zimbabwean dollars being introduced through the back door.

There are also allegations that the bond notes will be used to replace the hard currency and result in emptying of shelves in shops and “burning” of money.

In response, RBZ international banking and portfolio management deputy director Mr Ernest Matiza said there were plans to roll out a campaign to educate the public on the bond notes.

“We understand the conflicted positions people are having concerning bond notes, but this is mainly due to a constraint on our part,” he said.

“The budget permitting, we will print out pamphlets as a way of disseminating information to the public. These pamphlets will have information on how the bond notes will be issued.”

Mr Matiza emphasised that the bond notes were not coming in to ease cash shortages but were in fact an incentive to encourage exports.