NEW CURRENCY NOTES DEBATE .PART 1- Dr. Nevers Mumba

By  Dr. Nevers Mumba

NEW CURRENCY NOTES DEBATE .PART 1
————————————————————————————
As Zambians, we are no strangers to lively debates. One such debate that has ensued in the nation is about a development I personally consider a positive change – the introduction of new currency notes.

According to the government, the new currency family, set to be launched on March 31, 2025, celebrates our rich heritage, featuring elements that showcase our unique flora, fauna, and breathtaking waterfalls. The introduction of higher denomination notes is a convenient and cost-effective solution, aimed at reducing the cost of printing currency for bulk cash transactions while increasing convenience.

I have gone through many of the arguments advanced by many of our citizens.I also acknowledge that some of you may have fairly presented your concerns about the removal of historic monuments from the notes and the possible erosion of value of the currency after the introduction of the higher denominations.

However, I urge you to consider the facts and also the bigger picture.I believe that even within the teams that sat to consider the new designs, these were hot issues. Nonetheless, care must be taken here. Are these concerns factual or are they merely sentimental, differences in opinion and methodology? We know that the Bank of Zambia’s decision to introduce the 200 and 500 kwacha notes, along with the incorporation of various animals on each note, is a product of years of research and consultation with diverse stakeholders and this process started even before the current government took over office. In other words, I would like us to debate these changes in light of National Objectives and not through the narrow lenses of political divisiveness.

CURRENCY SYMBOLISM

Is it true that as a country, our collective Hopes, dreams, and aspirations can only ever be encapsulated in the figure of the freedom statue and other heritage images or events that led to the historic Night of October the 24th, 1964? Are we saying that our currency must forever have the same symbolism throughout our existence or can different seasons call for different themes and marketing strategies depending on what we want to achieve as a nation? In fact in the church world where I come from, we change themes every year and sometimes every quarter. This is done to ensure the the body of christ does not fall behind in other aspects of crucial importance in trying to maintain one doctrinal or critical issue no matter how important.

What is wrong with basing our currency images on something else, such as our aspiration to diversify our economy and pursue Agricultural and  Tourism as a major source of Forex that we can use to drive the national marketing strategy of Zambia into the next few decades?

CURRENCY DEVALUATION

Secondly, there is a narrative that some have advanced that the introduction of higher denomination notes will lead to inflation or erosion of value. This cannot be true. The size of note has no direct impact on its value. It could happen sometimes that coincidentally, in some cases, currency changes have been effected at a time when a country’s economy as a whole is also in recession and it may appear to some that the currency change is what has caused the erosion of value when in fact not. The relationship of cause and effect is only determind by serious econometrix analysis and not by mere simple facebook specultion.

As at present, we know that the factors that are currently weighing us down and continue to affect the Zambian economy currently are:

● A serious debt burden inherited from the previous regime and a looming Debt Default which can only dissappear after complete debt restructuring.

●A serious Drought and the associated Power Crisis that has led to low productivity across industry, including reduced Mining and Agro Business even despite our country having huge mineral deposits, arable land and a youthful population

●A rising population with a high appetite for consuming foreign produced goods and services at the expense of developing our own substitute goods and services. This has continued to produce a bad balance of payments situation and ultimately, a deteriorating exchange rate, further exercabating the cost of living.

●Low Tourism Turnover despite having a high tourism potential

With the above points, we can clearly see that the proposed and recently announced currency change is not only a convenient and cost-effective solution to having many notes with less value, but the Bank Of Zambia have taken advantage of this currency change to Introduce a different strategy in our currency branding which is more focused on financial freedom as a goal, anchored on Tourism and agriculture rather than keeping the theme of political freedom anchored on the liberation struggle from colonialism.

Let’s not forget that our nation’s development is not solely defined by our freedom struggle of the sixties, but it is equally undergurded by our current fight for equitable access to our God given resources as Africans.We must be free to look to the future with new ideas and capitalize on our unique strengths, such as our vibrant culture and breathtaking natural beauty

CONCLUSION

In other words, I acknowledge that both arguments, those for, and those against this change, are, of course, worth a token, But I also believe that progress can never be made while we remain static. When it comes to effective change, such is life, we must always be brave enough to try new ideas and new situations. In fact, this is not new at all. It is a common scenario in change management and whenever a society is effecting changes that are wholsale in nature, there is always going to be a clash between the new ideas and what that particular society has become accustomed to up to that point.

Look out for PART 2.