Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa says he is not going to release more bond notes despite the current cash shortages because they are issued relative to exports.
Zimbabwe obtained a $200 million facility from the Afrexim Bank to introduce bond notes which trade at the same value at the United States dollar but has so far only issued $104 million.
When asked why not release the balance and have $200 million in bond notes on the market, Chinamasa said: “We made it very clear, the bond notes are only issued relative to the exports – no exports, no Bond notes in the market and that we are going to stick by. They are coming in as an incentive.”
On service stations refusing bond notes, the Finance Minister said service stations do not generate foreign currency.
“The foreign currency that they use, they are given by the exporters through the allocation that is given by the Reserve Bank. Of all businesses, service stations have no ground whatsoever to want to withhold or to keep foreign currency or US dollars.
“They have no basis at all. These are the measures which we are going to take to restore discipline into the market which may necessitate – when we get there – to withdraw the licences. They will never repeat it.”
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