Zimbabwe Prints Money To Ease Cash Shortage

Published May 5, 2016 at 12:33 PM CDT

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Zimbabweans queue to withdraw cash outside a bank on May 5, 2016 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Zimbabweans formed long queues outside banks Thursday after the government slapped new limits on cash withdrawals and announced that "bond notes" at par with the US dollar would be introduced. (JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) — Zimbabweans queue to withdraw cash outside a bank on May 5, 2016 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans formed long queues outside banks Thursday after the government slapped new limits on cash withdrawals and announced that "bond notes" at par with the US dollar would be introduced. (JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Facing a cash shortage, Zimbabwe’s central bank governor John Mangudya announced Thursday that the bank will begin printing its own version of the U.S. dollar. Zimbabwe has already been using the U.S. dollar after abandoning its own currency in 2009 because of hyperinflation.

Now the bank will print bond notes that will have the same value as their U.S. dollar equivalents. Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with economics journalist Ali Velshi about what’s behind the change.

Guest

Ali Velshi, global affairs and economics journalist based in New York. He tweets @AliVelshi.