Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday said there is no way that the country will revert to using the U.S. dollar despite the fact that new local currency has been continuously plunging against the greenback since its introduction early this year, leading to inflation and economic hardship, reported Reuters.
In 2009, the Zimbabwe government allowed the use of the US dollar and other foreign currencies as legal tender in the country after hyperinflation decimated the value of Zimbabwe’s sovereign currency.
This year in June, the government decided to end dollarization, partly to stem demand for the increasingly scarce currency. This led to the introduction of the new Zimbabwean dollar, which formally entered circulation in November. Notably, the Zimbabwe dollar has lost 61% of its value against the greenback since its re-introduction.
Economists, political analysts, and the opposition have accused the Zimbabwean government of reintroducing the Zimbabwean dollar in a rush without the backing of foreign currency reserves. They claim that the only way to curb soaring prices is to allow the use of the US dollar and other currencies in the country.
“No progressive nation can progress without its own currency. However, we have so many among our people, who fight this decision. We will not revert back to a basket of currencies, never, never, never,” Mnangagwa told ZANU-PF members at an annual party conference outside the capital.
The president said his government is undertaking much needed economic reforms, including measures to bring down the budget deficit to single digits. He said the opposition’s main motive behind organizing violent protests in January in the wake of a fuel price hike was to derail economic reforms and undermine his rule.
“I want to commend the people of Zimbabwe for rejecting the machinations by those with unbridled political ambitions who are even prepared to use violence, divisions and disunity, and violent demonstrations to acquire power,” Mnangagwa said.
