World / Africa Zimbabwe president mocks own currency as prices soar Emmerson Mnangagwa says the real time gross settlement currency is not real money, as it continues to fall against the US dollar BL PREMIUM

President Emmerson Mnangagwa stunned Zimbabweans when he denigrated the country’s real time gross settlement (RTGS) currency his government introduced to try solve the huge money shortage in the country. Speaking after receiving a $2.5m donation from the US government to help recover from the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, Mnangagwa conceded the currency which Zimbabweans were using for most of their financial transactions was “not real money”. The cyclone, which also hit Mozambique and Malawi, has killed more than 300 Zimbabweans and left thousands missing. The president’s startling admission came as the RTGS currency continued to fall against the US dollar last week, leading to yet another wave of price increases of goods and services. But not many expected the president to publicly downgrade his own currency, which his government until recently controversially pegged at par with the US dollar. Mnangagwa was quite animated over the US donation, which he seemed to suggest wa...