INITIALLY, the bond notes were expected to be issued within two months from the date of announcement, that is by next month. As I have said before in this column, the ensuing delay, which will now see them being launched only in October, has created room for further unwarranted speculation. As things stand, between now and October, what we have is vacant space in which speculation and conjecture about the bond notes can swirl with reckless abandon in a most unhelpful manner. Consequently, the bond notes have almost become some kind of mythical phenomenon, which assumes different forms or identities — changing most ominously depending on who is describing them. In this instalment, I take a lighter look at the notes and invoke neither finance nor economics but mythology to explore some aspects of what they have or could become, and in some cases what they are thought to be.
OMEN MUZA
Red herring
A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue. It can, therefore, cause people to choose an inappropriate course or lead people towards false conclusions. The intense heat (and not much light) emitted by debate around bond notes is seen by some as distracting from the real work of resuscitating the economy. Our fundamental problem is not a currency problem but a problem of poor economic performance.
“Regarding the bond notes, I can fully understand the apprehension Zimbabweans have on their imminent introduction and the possible consequences. However, the same bond notes issue has a serious potential to divert the country’s attention from the cause, which is a serious under-performing economy,” Simon Bere said recently.
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy and win the war. In the canonical version, it is said after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night, the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war. Metaphorically a Trojan Horse has, therefore, come to mean any trick or strategy that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place.
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Apparently, some Zimbabweans see the bond notes as a Trojan Horse, which must not be invited into our banking space, otherwise the public enemy hiding within — the Zimbabwe dollar or its proxy — will spring a nasty surprise on us. Although the authorities have vehemently denied this characterisation of bond notes, many Zimbabweans view them as a duplicitous of way of reintroducing some form of local currency
“Bond notes are but a precursor and a chameleonic way of re-introducing the Zim dollar. All they do is promote the parallel market again. There is a clear affinity and nostalgia on the part of government to return to the Zim dollar,” Tapiwa Mashakada, MP for Hatfield and former minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, said.
However, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya disputes the existence of any such subterfuge. “We do not have hidden agendas and, therefore, will not surprise people by returning the Zimbabwe dollar. You know, I see Zimbabwe as a financially traumatised society, it’s almost like a rape case,” he says. In other words, severely traumatised people are likely to have nightmares and apparitions, including visions of mythological figures such as Trojan Horses.
Knight in shining armour
This is an idealised or chivalrous person, usually a man, who comes to the aid of another, usually a woman in a difficult situation, in a gallant and courteous manner. Here the bond notes assume the character of a saviour, liberator, defender, protector or guardian seeking to prise the banking public away from the clutches of a liquidity crisis that has since morphed into a cash crisis due to externalisation. Bond notes are also expected to charm exporters into producing more for the export market that has shrunk due to the strengthening of the hegemonic US dollar against regional currencies.
“Addressing capital flight is one of the major motivations for us to utilise the bond notes as opposed to injecting the $200 million directly into the market. That money would disappear into thin air,” Mangudya said, outlining the chivalric qualities of bond notes, in early May.
Loch Ness monster
In folklore, the Loch Ness Monster is a large aquatic being, which reputedly inhabits Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The most common speculation among believers is that it represents a line of long-surviving prehistoric creatures, but scientists regards the Loch Ness monster as a myth, explaining sightings as misidentifications of mundane objects, hoaxes, and wishful thinking.
Bond notes appear to have assumed some characteristics of the Loch Ness monster, with many describing them as the result of wishful and delusionary thinking. In the public consciousness, bond notes have become this huge and frightful creature, whose actual characteristics or purpose not many understand. Despite this lack of understanding, there is general belief that, just like most monsters, bond notes are certainly harmful. This is because many see them as a direct descendant of a pre-dollarisation (or pre-historic, if you like) phenomenon called bearer cheques.
Muza edits the MFSB. You can view his LinkedIn profile at zw.linkedin.com/pub/omen-n-muza/30/641/3b8 or initiate contact on [email protected].
