RBZ Secretly Printing The Zimbabwe Dollar Putting IMF Assistance In Jeopardy
Financial Times has reported that the relationship between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Zimbabwe is now at risk after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe secretly resumed printing of the Zimbabwe Dollar.
The IMF which was overseeing the country’s reform drive had advised the central bank to stop printing the money.
The fund on Wednesday, however, said that the programme was “off-track” adding that there was “uneven implementation of reforms, notably delays and missteps in FX and monetary reforms,” resulting in failure to restore confidence in the new currency.
Of great concern to the fund, according to senior officials in the Zimbabwean government, was a recent discovery which showed that RBZ had, against the IMF’s advice, resumed printing the Zimbabwe dollar to provide state subsidies to gold producers.
The gold subsidy that was intended to support miners who are required by the central bank to convert much of their US dollar export earnings at the official exchange rate, was reportedly one of the central reasons that the IMF came to a conclusion that the programme is off-track.
The publication was further told that the subsidy has now been stopped and a plan to continue monetary reforms without IMF oversight is being crafted.
More: Financial Times
