Move over bond notes and RTGS, Zimbabwe has a new currency called the Nostro USD. If you do not know what we are talking about then you really need to read our earlier article on this subject. Yesterday, the Zimbabwean government caved in to demands by civil servants that they wanted USD salaries too as everything is now priced in USD. The government announced that from now on civil servants would start receiving a flat allowance of $75 USD and $30 USD for retirees. The catch is there is no USD!

What civil servants are really getting are not USD notes at all according to the Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications),we will just call him government spokesperson from now on, Mr George Charamba.

The USD75 allowance if flat across all grades. The USD75 will not come in notes form; it will be a purchasing electronic card to ensure this enhanced buying power does not feed the white market and allows money to circulate within the formal monetary system!! So do not expect cash disbursements.
Imagine what upward of USD25m monthly cash disbursement would do to the white market!
It should have added that the three months-COVID-19 related income adjustment takes us to the next major Financial Pronouncement by Govt, in which case there will not be a hiatus or discontinuity in income.
Mr Charamba on Twitter

So to facilitate all this, shops are now required to have a dual pricing system: Zimbabwean dollars and USD. In actual fact prices, these shops will be in RTGS and Nostro USD. Who is to say the government is not going to be printing their own Nostro USD? If you are certain they wouldn’t, then I would like you to meet me so I can sell you my golden goose which lays golden eggs.

Just to pour more water on your excitement. Just know that this Nostro USD thing is going to be paid only for the next three months. It’s like handing precious china to a screaming child so they play tea games with it. You can always snatch it away from them once the inevitable nap comes along.

Click here to read our latest indepth article: The Kingdom of Funny Money