Zimbabwe’s
central
bank
has
ruled
out
a
return
to
using
the
US
dollar
as
official
currency
because
there’s
not
enough
greenbacks
in
the
country.
The
financial
system
is
still
dominated
by
the
local
unit,
Governor
John
Mangudya
said
in
a
monetary
policy
statement
released
Monday.
The
Zimbabwean
dollar,
reintroduced
three
years
ago,
accounts
for
56%
of
bank
deposits
with
the
balance
made
up
of
foreign
currency,
“which
shows
that
there
is
no
sufficient
foreign
currency
liquidity
to
support
dollarisation
in
Zimbabwe,”
he
said.
The
current
system
in
which
both
the
Zimbabwean
dollar
and
foreign
currencies
are
used
for
payments
is
ideal
for
promoting
growth
and
competitiveness
of
the
economy,
Mangudya
said.
The
governor’s
comments
come
as
the
government
has
sought
to
encourage
the
use
of
the
local
unit
that’s
plunged
by
22%
against
the
US
currency
since
October.
That’s
helped
fuel
inflation
to
more
than
60%
in
January.
The
US
dollar
is
being
used
to
pay
for
everything
from
fuel,
food,
medicines
and
school
fees.
State
workers
and
bank
employees
have
requested
to
be
paid
in
greenbacks.
The
local
currency
must
be
embraced
to
minimise
the
“sentimental
value”
of
holding
onto
the
past
dollarisation
era
which
had
its
own
challenges,
including
making
the
economy
uncompetitive
and
difficult
to
service
foreign
obligations,
Mangudya
said.
The
southern
African
country
shifted
to
the
US
dollar
from
2009
to
2019,
after
the
local
currency
collapsed
and
a
bout
of
hyperinflation
decimated
savings
and
resulted
in
fuel
and
food
shortages.
Dollarisation
is
“not
a
panacea
to
sustainably
and
competitively
develop
the
country,”
he
said.