HARARE - Zimbabwe has made some headway in negotiations with the United States for the provision of coins following the apparent collapse of similar talks with neighbouring South Africa.According to Finance Minister Tendai Biti, the US has indicated its willingness to give Zimbabwe much-needed coins to smoothen the flow of trade in a country where consumers are often forced to pay high prices and buy things they do not need as there are no coins for change.
The US currency is the number one medium of exchange in Zimbabwe since the government allowed last year the use of a basket of foreign currencies that includes the South African rand, Botswana pula and British pound. Weve opened negotiations with the US Treasury with regard to coins. They said if we can pay for shipping then we can have the coins, said Biti, who did not give a timeframe for the availability of the coins nor indicate how much Zimbabwe would pay in shipping costs.
Zimbabwe switched to the use of foreign currency following the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar after an unprecedented economic meltdown that peaked in 2008 and is blamed on President Robert Mugabes controversial policies. Biti said the use of multiple currencies was going to continue for some time as no agreement had been reached with South Africa.
He talked down the possibility of the SADC region currency being introduced anytime soon, saying such a currency would have to be linked to the proposed SADC Free Trade Area that, however, remains stalled because of South Africas dragging of feet over the trade arrangement.
Post published in: News