Last week, head of the e-government unit Charles Wekwete
proposed the introduction of cryptocurrency during the Computer Society of
Zimbabwe summit.
The media quoted Wekwete as having hinted that government
was looking into how cryptocurrencies could be used as a legal payment service.
But on Tuesday, Cabinet shot down the idea, giving
assurance that the country is sticking to local currency.
“Government would like to assure the nation that it is not
considering introducing another currency in the economy as reported in some
sections of the media,” Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa told journalists
during a post Cabinet briefing.
“Our local currency is the Zimbabwe dollar (ZW$) and not
cryptocurrency. Like most countries in the world, the government of Zimbabwe
through its Financial Technology (FINTECH) Group, is studying Central Banking
Digital Currency (CBDC) as opposed to crypto currencies, bit coins or any form
of derivatives.”
A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is the digital form
of a country’s fiat currency that is also a claim on the central bank. Instead
of printing money, the central bank issues electronic coins or accounts backed
by the full faith and credit of the government.
Wekwete told the summit that the government has begun
gathering views from businesses and will talk to citizens as part of research
on the issue.
“So the government has put in place a mechanism to try and gather
views from various sectors of society in order to eventually formulate
policies,” Wekwete was quoted last week.
Zimbabwe is ranked 61st for crypto adoption, according to
the Chainalysis 2021 report. On the COVID-19 pandemic, Mutsvangwa said the country
was yet to come out of the woods.
“This means that all gatherings, including bars, must only
allow vaccinated clients. Let us all continue to work together to forestall a
possible 4th wave.” Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment