Zimbabwean News You Can Trust
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) banknotes will hit the market on Monday.
The Apex bank has set withdrawal limits which will see individuals allowed to withdraw ZiG3,000 per week whilst companies will withdraw ZiG30,000.
According to the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper, Zimbabweans will start withdrawing cash and coins from their bank accounts today.
In an interview with the newspaper, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Governor John Mushayavanhu said all the necessary information about the distribution of the money and withdrawal limits has been relayed to commercial banks.
Schools, hospitals, clinics and local authorities will be allowed to withdraw up to ZiG250,000 per month whilst Government ministries will access ZiG300,000.
There are no withdrawal limits of cash withdrawals for parliament, courts and international organizations.
However, withdrawal limits for foreign currency, including United States of America dollars, remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, individuals and companies are crying foul over the withdrawal limits of the ZiG, which is selling at 20 per US dollar on the parallel market. The official rate is US$1:ZiG13,43.
The new currency replaced the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL), which collapsed due to hyperinflation. The ZiG is backed by gold, other minerals and foreign currencies with a combined value of about USD$285M.
The RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu, in his inauguaral Monetary Policy Statement stated that the central bank has US$100 million in foreign currency and 2,5 tons of gold as well as other precious metals worth US$185 million.
