THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says maintaining adequate liquidity and consistent policies is critical for the central bank to build credibility and restore confidence in the financial system.
This comes as the RBZ recently confirmed deliberately constraining market liquidity in the recent 2026 Monetary Policy Statement, maintaining daily positions below its optimal liquidity levels as part of a tight monetary stance, amid businesses decrying crippling liquidity shortages.
As a consequence of the limited liquidity, firms are struggling to secure borrowings from local financial institutions to address their capital needs.
Speaking at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Business and Economic Outlook Symposium and Monetary Policy Review yesterday, RBZ governor John Mushayavanhu said credibility for a central bank was built through consistent policy implementation and effective liquidity management.
“One other thing that we have done is that we want consistency in the market and therefore… Credibility needs consistency,” he said.
“Again, for you to gain credibility, you need to manage your liquidity.”
He said the central bank’s efforts were aimed at ensuring stability in the financial system while reinforcing confidence in monetary policy.
CZI vice-president Clara Mlambo said currency stability ultimately depended on the strength of the real economy, driven by productive industries, competitive markets and employment creation.
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“And that’s part of the reason why we have continued with national conversations because too often, currency stability is treated primarily as a monetary issue,” she said.
“Yet, it’s something that needs to be solved through exchange rate management, tighter policy, reserve accumulation, or regulation controls.
“A stable currency must ultimately rest on the strength of the real economy, and that means productivity, competitiveness, exports, and industry.”
Mlambo said Zimbabwe’s past hyperinflation had significantly damaged the country’s productive base, making it necessary to rebuild the structural foundations.
“Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation period did more than destroy price stability, it negatively affected the productive base of the economy.
“When an economy loses productive depth, it needs to rebuild the structural foundation upon domestic currency and this is the journey that we are currently on with the governor.
“This is why the next phase of Zimbabwe’s economic journey needs to be defined by a renewed national focus on restoring and expanding industrial capacity. Industrialisation is the economic architecture that supports monetary sovereignty.
“A competitive export-oriented industrial economy generates sustained foreign exchange earnings, deepens domestic value chains, creates employment, expands the tax base, and provides the transition density that anchors demand for the domestic currency.”
She said industrial development should become the central organising principle of Zimbabwe’s economic strategy, supported by aligned fiscal, monetary and trade policies, as well as infrastructure investment and skills development.
“At CZI, we remain fully committed to constructive engagement and I think the key thing is a lot of constructive engagement.
“We do really make committed government constructive engagement with all other arms of government in support of policies that sustain stability, facilitate growth, and strengthen Zimbabwe’s monetary sovereignty.”
Mlambo said a nation that produces competitively, exports consistently, and innovates continuously will be able to grow.
