Tendai Matunhu

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the re-introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar yesterday will bring normalcy in the country as the nation is living in an abnormal situation.

Speaking to journalists during a press briefing in Victoria Falls today, President Mnangagwa also emphasised that foreign currency has not been banned only that the local currency will be used for local transactions and that tourists can use international payment methods such as VISA or MasterCard like the rest of the world.

“Zimbabwe has gone back to normalcy and normalcy is that, a country must have its own currency. We were living in an abnormal situation. With regards the multicurrency, we have removed them and our current currency is denominated by coins, bond note or RTGS.

“We have not banned the possession of any other currency, except for you to transact in any shop. If you want to buy in the US dollar or the Euro, you can go to the Bureau de change,” he said.

He said that Government would continue to inform the public through relevant pronouncements on the country’s new currency.

President Mnanagwa assured the nation that everything regarding the new currency is in order.

 “What is critical is to move when we have critical fundamentals in place. Ukavona tofamba zvinenge zvagadzirisika,” he said.

Speaking about the on-going AU Wild life Economy Summit, President Mnangagwa said, “As Zimbabweans we feel honoured for having hosted the inaugural AU Wildlife Economy Summit. We think it is proper that wildlife products be utilised for the purpose of keeping wildlife and improving the lives of people around national parks.”

President Mnangagwa appealed to countries outside the continent to contribute to the conservation of wildlife as the conference has exposed the need to cooperate in maintenance of wildlife. He said trade in ivory would enhance the current wildlife management programmes and that Zimbabwe has stockpiles of ivory worth $600million.