adminIn an interview in Masvingo last week, Affirmative Action Group (AAG) Masvingo chapter official Dr Fredrick Kasese said the country cannot afford to abandon its own currency forever since it did not have control over the foreign currency in use.
There is growing debate on whether the country should reintroduce its own currency so that it can determine its destiny.
“The need to revert to our own currency should not be debated as Zimbabwe should inevitably, at some point, use its own currency. We can differ on the time when the reintroduction can be done but the bottom line is that we cannot continue using foreign currency that we don’t have control on,” said Dr Kasese.
Dr Kasese, who is also Regency Hotel and Leisure Group chief executive officer, said there was no country which had abandoned its own currency permanently and Zimbabwe could not be an exception.
“There are a good number of countries that have experienced the Zimbabwean scenario but they have since reverted to their local currency. You cannot enjoy sovereignty when you are using some people’s currency.
“However, this is not the time to return to the use of our own dollar,” he said.
He said it was prudent to reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar when industry’s utilisation capacity has improved drastically from where it is now.
The country’s industry at present operates at an estimated level of 51 percent.
“Our industry is still struggling that at present there is no economic sense to introduce our local currency but the need to use our own money cannot be overemphasised.
“We should reintroduce our dollar when we feel the resource base has reached a sustainable level where our minerals fetch a competitive value on the world market. That way we would know that the country would not be plunged back into the economic quagmire that we experienced in 2007 and 2008. There is no consensus within the inclusive Government that it won’t be wise to bring back the local currency now.
“Some parties within the Government would oppose for the sake of opposing without tabling any meaningful policies on the table. They are bent on causing unnecessary noise, simply because they have this illusion of change. This is why the country seems not to be ready for the reintroduction of our currency.”
The Regency CEO suggested that Government should adopt the Cuban approach where the local currency is used together with the United States dollar but the Cuban currency is heavily subsidised.
“We can have a situation whereby we use the rand of South Africa together with our own currency. Our dollar will be rated at the ratio of one to one to the South African rand but when people use the Zimbabwean dollar to buy there would be a subsidy of two percent. This happens in Cuba and it is working.”
Online Reporter