By ETimes
HARARE – HARARE – FBC Holdings group chief executive officer Trynos Kufazvinei said Zimbabwe’s shift to a single currency depends on strict monetary discipline and avoiding excessive money printing.
The remarks come as policymakers debate moving away from the multi-currency system.
Zimbabwe adopted the arrangement in February 2009, introducing a basket of currencies with the US dollar as the official unit after the Zimbabwe dollar was withdrawn from circulation.
Kufazvinei said the future of the transition was uncertain.
“If any person can actually crack the future on that one, obviously, he will win a Nobel Prize. But what I should actually say is, it has always been about one principle, that of printing money,” he said.
He argued that the choice of currency—whether the ZiG or the US dollar – was less important than how it is managed, particularly in terms of supply control.
“So whether you use ZiG, whether you use USD, the issue is about printing money when it comes to the local currency, mono-currency.
“If the government, like what they have said, if they say, we are going mono-currency and we are not going to print money, we’ve seen, we will all be looking for the ZiG. That is what it is,” Kufazvinei said.
Kufazvinei indicated that a disciplined approach under a mono-currency regime could improve economic efficiency.
He noted that the current reliance on foreign currency creates distortions in everyday transactions.
“So if they go mono-currency and then they do not print the ZiG, we will have a functioning and more efficient economy,” he said.
“We have always said that it is inefficient for somebody who is from Mberengwa where I come from to actually say they are actually trading to buy Mazhanje. Then they are trading Mazhanje using a USD that is printed in the USA, which is required in forex.”
He said the preference for the US dollar in local transactions reflects a lack of confidence in domestic currency, driven largely by past monetary expansion.
“It’s inefficient as an economy. What we need, that is inefficient, but what is causing that inefficiency for people to actually prefer the USD is confidence. How is confidence not preserved? it’s through printing,” he said.
Kufazvinei pointed to recent declines in inflation as evidence of the impact of tighter monetary policy.
“We have all seen inflation going down and we have seen a lot of people who have seen a milestone when inflation has always been high. It’s only now that people are seeing single digit inflation. And why did that happen? Because of printing,” he said.
He added that controlling money supply remains the central issue in stabilising the economy.
“So this is why, in terms of simplification, you know, scientists, they break down everything into this fundamental structure of what it is. It’s all about printing, for me. I will not dwell more into what is happening but I will just say it’s all about printing. It’s a fundamental issue to be addressed,” Kufazvinei further said.
This also comes as FBC Holdings Limited changed its functional currency to US dollars from the ZiG for the year ended 31 December 2025, following a rise in dollar-denominated transactions.
As for financials, the group’s core revenue rose 20.5% to US$120.7 million in 2025 from US$100.2 million in 2024.
Total net income fell 34.1% to US$144.6 million compared with US$219.3 million a year earlier. Operating expenses dropped 42% to US$101.7 million from US$176.4 million.
Profit before tax climbed 83.6% to US$31.4 million from US$17.1 million in 2024.
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