Zimbabwean banks started distributing low-denominated banknotes on Tuesday to help end a crippling cash shortage, more than a decade since the nation had its own hard currency.
However, strict withdrawal limits of Z$300 ($19) a week meant consumers continued to struggle to get enough cash to cover costs.
The central bank sent Z$30 million of the new notes to local banks, the state-controlled Herald newspaper cited Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya as saying. Lenders were issuing newly minted Z$2 and Z$5 notes and coins.
“The only consolation is that today I got my money, but the problem is that it’s not enough to last the whole week since I use public transport,” said Ishe Mukoi, a store supervisor in the capital, Harare.
Zimbabwe this year abolished a multi-currency system and reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar as sole legal tender, a decade after it went out of circulation because of hyperinflation. It has weakened from a 1:1 parity peg in February to 15.8742 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday.
The central bank plans to “drip feed” Z$1 billion into the economy over the next six months to help end arbitrage and premiums being charged on the parallel market.
To contact the reporter on this story: Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Jacqueline Mackenzie
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