The head of Zimbabwe's central bank says holiday bonuses won't shake up prices or exchange rates. Dr. John Mushayavanhu runs the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and he feels good about how things are going. The money markets have settled down since they made some changes to control extra cash floating around.
He told a newspaper that government workers will get their bonuses in both US dollars and ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold), with most of it in US dollars. The government planned ahead for these bonuses using money they already have, so it shouldn't cause problems.
During the holidays, more money flows through the economy. Stores run sales, and many Zimbabweans living abroad send money home and visit. Dr. Mushayavanhu thinks this mix of activity won't rock the boat too much.
The central bank made some big changes lately. They raised interest rates and made banks keep more money in reserve. They also made it easier to buy and sell foreign money. These changes helped calm down the unofficial money market.
A special team from the bank and the treasury meets often to keep an eye on things. They want to make sure there's just the right amount of money moving around. The bank also started up another group to help manage this.
Zimbabwe now has about 540 million US dollars in savings, including gold. That's much more than the 4 billion ZiG (worth 155 million US dollars) they have in circulation. It's also way up from the 285 million dollars they had when ZiG started in April. Their total savings are now bigger than all the money people have in banks, which is about 12 billion ZiG (467 million US dollars).
He told a newspaper that government workers will get their bonuses in both US dollars and ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold), with most of it in US dollars. The government planned ahead for these bonuses using money they already have, so it shouldn't cause problems.
During the holidays, more money flows through the economy. Stores run sales, and many Zimbabweans living abroad send money home and visit. Dr. Mushayavanhu thinks this mix of activity won't rock the boat too much.
The central bank made some big changes lately. They raised interest rates and made banks keep more money in reserve. They also made it easier to buy and sell foreign money. These changes helped calm down the unofficial money market.
A special team from the bank and the treasury meets often to keep an eye on things. They want to make sure there's just the right amount of money moving around. The bank also started up another group to help manage this.
Zimbabwe now has about 540 million US dollars in savings, including gold. That's much more than the 4 billion ZiG (worth 155 million US dollars) they have in circulation. It's also way up from the 285 million dollars they had when ZiG started in April. Their total savings are now bigger than all the money people have in banks, which is about 12 billion ZiG (467 million US dollars).
