By Pearson Mbendera.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) -With some people sleeping outside banks just so they can have better chances of accessing their hard earned cash, the cash shortage problem in Zimbabwe needs an instant solution before all hell breaks loose.
Zimbabwe has been having some serious cash shortage for a while now and the problem is yet to be remedied. Since the nation adopted the multi-currency system, there has been some periodic cash shortage particularly after the 2013 elections, but that soon subsided and normality reigned.
But the current shortage doesn’t seem to be going away, and a lot of speculation and uncertainty is making it even worse. With less production happening in the country to improve exports, the country’s hopes for getting foreign currency lies with the many Zimbabweans scattered all over the world, working hard to provide for their families here in Zimbabwe. But that’s not the way to sustain the economy, it needs more than that to survive.
The Bond notes that are yet to be introduced by the government as a means to end the shortage don’t seem to have what it takes to remedy this. Having had their introduction date pushed downwards several times, the public is living in the dark on what to expect from the RBZ, having pushed hard for the bond notes and having the legal framework in place to support the introduction and issue of the much dreaded financial security called the bond notes.
Zimbabwe is no stranger to liquidity and monetary problems, having had once produced the most worthless banknote in the history. There was a time when queues at banks was a common feature and we seem to be headed back into that era.
There is great fear that the country is headed towards the 2008 standards that saw the economy being flooded by valueless money that was constantly losing value and unable to buy since the shops were empty. And the same fear have been revived when the government proposed the introduction of bond notes and it worsened when counterfeit bond notes were announced to be in existence already before the real notes have been introduced.
But like most things, it seems as if the government cannot provide a solution to this problem, and the more they stall, the greater the risk.
Zimbabweans have been used to transacting in cash for a very long period now and it doesn’t seem like the people are ready to make a switch.
Unlike most economies, Zimbabwe hasn’t been able to function on plastic money, the need for people to have cash in their hands has always been big, and with the vast majority of the population either unemployed or working in the informal sector where bank accounts aren’t a necessity, the success of adopting a cashless society seems farfetched.
There has always been a big mistrust of the banking institution, and the more the country gets cash starved the greater the mistrust grows, ruling out the possibility of the use of plastic money instead of cash. But its not just the cash shortage that needs to be addressed, the whole economy needs restructuring.
With the christmas period fast approaching, it doesn’t seem like people will have much to celebrate come year end. The economy has been playing the grinch to the festive season for a very long time now, but this year, it won’t be just the economy, but the cash shortage. Seems like this year will be one to forget.
But maybe the people returning from the Diaspora to spend time with their loved ones here in Zimbabwe will come back holding a lot of foreign currency from wherever they will be coming from. But it is doubtful that people will be willing to easily part ways with their cash given the harsh reality of a cash starved economy we are facing right now.
The hesitation shown by the government to introduce the bond notes has cast doubt over whether the government believes in the bond notes as the solution to the cash problem. But the government has been urged by various business leaders and the public to look for alternative means of ending the cash shortage like adopting the South African rand as the official currency for Zimbabwe with permission from the SA government while we try to solve our many problems.
When the multi-currency system was introduced, it seemed like it was going to be a temporary system but now, considering that no significant improvements have been made to our economy, we have to rely on the foreign currency and dread the resurrection of our own Zimbabwean dollar.
We need a solution before this problem spills over and affects every facet of our lives. We have enough problems as it is, and our track record of providing solutions doesn’t look good. We won’t be able to remedy this if we let it fester.
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