WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Zimbabwe had to scrap its own currency and replace it with the US dollar to give its wrecked economy any hope of recovery, African Development Bank Group Zimbabwe expert Mateus Magala told Sputnik on Monday.
“The objective of the move is to phase out the ‘Zim Dollar’ completely so the ‘new normal’ is a dollarized economy,” Magala said.
On Monday, Zimbabwe officially started decommissioning its national currency from circulation, exchanging $35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars for $1 US dollar.
“The new normal is US dollar and will be there for many years until the confidence is restored; perhaps ten years or more,” Magala said.
Magala concluded that it is uncertain how long the US dollar will be the main currency of Zimbabwe, saying that if, or when, a new national currency is brought into existence will be “a discussion of the future for all of us.”
The African Development Bank Group is a multilateral development finance institution that seeks to advance sustainable economic development and social progress in its member countries, according to the Bank’s website.
