Zimbabwe Is In Discussion To Adopt Crypto As Legal Tender

The Government of Zimbabwe is apprehensive of crypto and is holding consultations with stakeholders on policy formulation. It is observing the global best practices and would act accordingly.

Zimbabwe is considering adopting cryptocurrency as a legal tender, as reported by Bulawayo24 on Monday.

At the Computer Society of Zimbabwe (CSZ) Information Communication Technologies (ICT) Summit, Permanent Secretary and Head of e-government Technology Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet Brigadier General (Retired), Charles Wekwete said that discussions with the private sector are in progress.

The main theme of the summit was: “Digital Innovations For Post Pandemic Recovery.”

“Governments (around the world) are still trying to understand and properly trying to create policies on how to deal with it. Government has put in place mechanism to try and gather views from various sectors of society in order to eventually formulate policies. There have been pronouncements by Minister of Finance and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and it’s such as complex area. Sooner or later Government will make statements but we have not gotten there yet.”

Brigadier General (Retired), Charles Wekwete

The Government is apprehensive of the use of crypto assets for funds externalization, money laundering and funding illegal activities. It is observing how other countries are dealing with digital assets to take cues from.

The Government has adopted the digital economy framework under its  National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and feels that it is imperative to consult and coordinate with both public and private sectors to understand the emerging concepts of the digital economy.

Zimbabwe’s economic woes are globally known. During the COVID pandemic, its economy shrunk in 2020 by 2%, according to World Bank. Moreover, it has been afflicted with hyperinflation in the past.

Having Digital Currency as legal tender can integrate the country’s economy with the world economy, as it is a landlocked country. Through Digital Assets, the country’s economy can get access to funds and improve its share in international trade.

It is also worth noting that only 25% of the population has access to the internet, as per World Bank.

Moreover, the informal sector accounts for more than 50% of the GDP, as mentioned in the book The Long Shadow of Informality: Challenges and Policies, compiled by the World Bank.

Amidst these impediments, it would interesting to see how the country will adopt digital currency.

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