Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has said the printing of new $10 and $20 denominations does not translate to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) printing more money, but it was merely swapping RTGS balances into hard cash.
However, Ncube allayed the fears and said the government was trying to ease the country's perennial cash shortages characterised by snaking queues outside banking halls and the buying of the Zimbabwe dollar on the black market.
Speaking to journalists at the burial of national hero, Absolom Sikhosana in Harare Wednesday, Ncube said government was only swapping RTGS balances for hard cash in the form of $10 notes.
"We are trying to ease the cash shortage and narrow the gap between the RTGS and the cash version of the Zimbabwe dollar, it almost constituted tax on people but the way we are doing it is careful.
Asked whether printing of money without any significant industrial production was viable, Ncube said his government was more concerned about easing the cash crunch and increasing production.
