SENIOR MOVEMENT for Democratic Change (MDC) official Tendai Biti has said he will quit as Zimbabwe’s finance minister if President Robert Mugabe forces the reintroduction of the recently decommissioned Zim dollar.
Mr Biti, who was appointed finance minister last March as part of the country’s powersharing deal, sidelined the country’s worthless denomination in favour of the US dollar, South African rand and pula as a means to control hyper- inflation.
The move was hailed as an immediate success, as within weeks it began to bring the country’s hyperinflation, recorded at more than 230 million per cent a year ago by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), under control.
According to statistics released yesterday by the CSO, Zimbabwe’s inflation rose to 0.6 per cent month-on-month in June, up from -1.0 per cent in May. A target of no more than 3 per cent inflation was expected to be secured by next December.
Despite the successful intervention, the move also left many businesses and individuals stuck with transactions worth trillions of Zim dollars that became impossible to conclude overnight as the currency was obsolete.
It was hoped that international donors would help to recapitalise the banks so Zimbabweans could swap their money for foreign currency, but the West has refused to provide significant support until clear signs emerge that the powersharing government is working.
As a result, Mr Mugabe told Zanu-PF officials late last month he had come to the conclusion that the Zim dollar should be reintroduced. “We can’t have a country like that. We are considering going back to our own currency. People must get money,” the state-controlled daily, the Herald, quoted Mr Mugabe as saying.
But on Sunday Mr Biti told the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe that the Zim dollar would not be returning while he was at the helm of the finance ministry. “The most important thing is that the Zim dollar is not coming back. If I have to bring the Zim dollar back into circulation, I will go back to my law firm.”
Yesterday Mr Biti said $6 million would be raised to buy all of the Zim dollar balances with the local banks as well as cash outside the banking system.
Some analysts say Mr Mugabe has an ulterior motive for pushing for the reintroduction of the Zim dollar, as he needs the money to maintain his system of patronage.