Bond notes in mixed debut

In Victoria Falls banks received the new currency late in the day, with major retail chains accepting the bond notes after initial resistance. However, some shoppers were witnessed rejecting the new notes as change.

Zimbabwe’s vibrant social media platforms, which provide a channel of dissent in what remains a restricted traditional media space, and are dominated by anti-bond note sentiment, panned the introduction of the new currency.

Not a currency says RBZ. Sure looks like a currency to me. All the features are there. Oh ya, except it won't hold any value. #BondNotes pic.twitter.com/obyNbnbuzl

— Harry Davies (@DaviesHarry) November 28, 2016

If social media channels such as twitter are to be believed, the bond notes are doomed to fail and presage economic armageddon. Often dismissed by critics as an echo chamber, one rarely finds any dissenting opinion on social media amid an avalanche of posts sharply criticising the currency move.

On Facebook and Twitter, many Zimbabweans mocked the bond notes, posting images of bond notes whose ink apparently rubs off easily, as well as videos of retail staff refusing to take the currency.

Some service stations refusing the #BondNotes until they have received the security features from the RBZ. pic.twitter.com/kRkpCQeq0v

— Violet Gonda (@violetgonda) November 28, 2016

While the social media universe is replete with stories of impending doom, the response on Zimbabwe’s street is largely that of typical resignation.

“What can we do?” airtime vendor Shadreck says with a shrug. “We work with what’s there.”-The Source

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