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According to The Herald on Tuesday (Nov. 10, 2021), Monica Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe's Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, made the statement after a cabinet meeting on Nov. 9. According to the government official, Zimbabwe is not planning to make crypto an official currency in the country.
Mutsvangwa's comment comes after reports from different media outlets that Zimbabwe was considering enabling bitcoin for payment. Charles Wekwete, the permanent secretary and the e-government technology unit in the office of the President and Cabinet, was quoted as saying that he was consulting with businesses in the crypto industry to study the possibility of using crypto as a legal payment option.
However, the Minister of Information has made clarification, stating:
"Government would like to assure the nation that it is not considering another currency in the economy as reported in some sections of the media. Our local currency is the Zimbabwe dollar, and not cryptocurrency."
Back in September, the country’s Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said that the Zimbabwe government was looking at how to classify cryptocurrency and other digital assets in another asset class.
While Ncube said that there was no issue with inquiring into the possible usefulness of crypto as an asset class in future, similar to Mutsvangwa’s statement, the Finance Minister said that cryptocurrency would not be used as a currency.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe government seems open to CBDC, with the Information Minister saying that the country was exploring the sector. A statement from Mutsvangwa said:
"Like most countries in the world, the Government of Zimbabwe, through its Financial Technology Group, is studying Central Bank Digital Currency as opposed to cryptocurrencies, bitcoins or any form of derivatives."
Other countries in Africa such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, are already working on developing their CBDC projects.
Unlike Zimbabwe, El Salvador has officially made bitcoin a legal tender in the country, following a supermajority vote back in June in favor of a proposed Bitcoin Law by President Nayib Bukele, causing the Central American country to become the first to make such a decision. The Bitcoin Law later became effective in September 2021.
Since then, the Bukele-led administration has put infrastructure in place to enable a widespread adoption of bitcoin in the country. Apart from creating a Chivo wallet and airdropping $30 worth of BTC to adult citizens who download the wallet, the government is also working on establishing a volcano-powered bitcoin mining facility.
However, El Salvador's President has received criticisms from several quarters including the opposition party, who believe that the decision to adopt BTC could cause harm for the citizens.
Meanwhile, the country recorded another "first", after President Bukele announced that El Salvador bought 200 BTC in September. Since then, the government has made four more bitcoin purchases of 200 BTC, 150 BTC, and another 150 BTC, and 420 BTC, with El Salvador buying the dip on all occasions.
This brings the total number of bitcoin accumulated by the Central American country to 1,120 BTC.