THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has introduced 50 cents bond coins aimed at completing the series of small denomination coins, which have helped to tame prices within the economy.
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RBZ last year introduced new bond coins in denominations of 1c, 5c, 10c and 25c saying they would alleviate change shortages in the country, which predominantly uses the US dollar as its base currency.
In a statement yesterday, RBZ boss John Mangudya said the 50c bond coins, together with others, were now available at any bank and at Easy Link Money Transfer Agency branches across the country.
“Following the successful launch, distribution and usage of the small denomination coins called bond coins, the RBZ is pleased to announce the introduction of 50c bond coins to further boost price competitiveness, with effect from 31 March 2015 as announced in the Monetary Policy Statement,” Mangudya said.
He said similar to the existing set of bond coins of 1c, 5c, 10c and 25c, the 50c bond coins are indexed at par or one to one with the US cents and shall circulate freely side by side with all currencies under the multiple currency system.
The coins are expected to ease the problem of small change that has been bedeviling the economy since the advent of the multi-currency regime in 2009. Following the introduction of bond cois last year, the prices of basic commodities had slightly gone down.
Delta Beverages recently slashed prices for sparkling drinks while the price of bread is expected to go down by 10% this month.
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Although the central bank introduced bond coins to counter problems arising from change unavailability, there has been scepticism over its intentions and reported resistance from both informal and formal traders.
Mangudya recently said the current trend of using rand coins as change for the dollar were not economically prudent because there was a rate involved and to accept a 1:10 ratio would prejudice consumers.
He said the introduction of bond coins represented a paradigm shift which was essential for the development of the country as people should get more returns from a dollar instead of calling for salary increments.
