BabuK
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 30, 2008
- 1,845
- 329
Traders have hit back at the Bank of Tanzanias response on the quality of its new banknotes, calling for their removal from circulation.
Traders interviewed by The Guardian at Ferry fish market, Kariakoo and Kisutu markets and in Dar es Salaam streets complained of inconveniences caused by the new banknotes.
Hamis Juma, a trader at the Ferry Fish market said the banknotes were wearing down quickly, leading to some people rejecting them in transactions because of the deterioration.
He said every trader has his way of handling money depending on the type of businesses he runs.
Here majority of us keep the banknotes in our pockets after receiving them from our clients, he said, adding: We have tried our best to ensure they are in good state, but the quality is just too low.
Hamza Yahaya another fish monger at the fish market said they never keep the money for long.
We are doing business. The money circulates fast as we transact our daily business, which means there is a great of handling necessitated by our activities, he said.
He said he does not understand why the government withdrew the old notes which seem to be stronger than the new ones.
The old banknotes are stable to the extent that even if they are contaminated with water they dry fast unlike the new ones, said Halima Seleman, a trader at Kisutu market.
She also said that she has noticed that the security line on many of the new banknotes, especially those of the lower value, has peeled off.
Ali Abdullah, trading at Kisutu Market noted that many traders were not comfortable receiving the new notes for fear of getting loss due to their poor quality.
Aisha Abdallah and Ayubu Mohamed both trading at Kariakoo said when the security line is removed the money becomes useless thus being a liability in their daily business activities.
They displayed a total amount of 60,000/- in low value banknotes, which they claimed had been returned by their customers because of poor quality.
Fidelis Ntima, acting General Manager at the Ferry Fish Market blamed the government for not taking the matter seriously.
He said people should be trained on the proper way of handling the money.
Early this week, the Bank of Tanzania said deterioration of the new banknotes, specifically the low value ones was due to poor handling in daily retail transactions.
But critics rejected the reason calling on the central bank to admit that the new notes were of low quality.
In his response Bank of Tanzania Director of Banking, Emmanuel Boaz dismissed claims that the deterioration of the new bank notes was due to low quality.
He blamed the deterioration on poor handling and continued circulation of the soiled banknotes between buyers and sellers in remote parts of the country.
The fact that retail transactions and business in these markets is characterised with low value transactions makes the low value banknotes (500, 1000, and 2000 shilling denominations) more susceptible to heavier soiling than the higher denomination banknotes (5,000 and 10,000 denominations), he said.
But Dr Donalth Ulomi of the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) concurred that the new notes were of poor quality when compared to the old ones and those from other countries.
He said since BoT was aware of the environment, under which the banknotes were being used, it should have produced them to the quality which could cope with the situation.
He said the old banknotes which are being phased out are of good quality compared to the new ones.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
Traders interviewed by The Guardian at Ferry fish market, Kariakoo and Kisutu markets and in Dar es Salaam streets complained of inconveniences caused by the new banknotes.
Hamis Juma, a trader at the Ferry Fish market said the banknotes were wearing down quickly, leading to some people rejecting them in transactions because of the deterioration.
He said every trader has his way of handling money depending on the type of businesses he runs.
Here majority of us keep the banknotes in our pockets after receiving them from our clients, he said, adding: We have tried our best to ensure they are in good state, but the quality is just too low.
Hamza Yahaya another fish monger at the fish market said they never keep the money for long.
We are doing business. The money circulates fast as we transact our daily business, which means there is a great of handling necessitated by our activities, he said.
He said he does not understand why the government withdrew the old notes which seem to be stronger than the new ones.
The old banknotes are stable to the extent that even if they are contaminated with water they dry fast unlike the new ones, said Halima Seleman, a trader at Kisutu market.
She also said that she has noticed that the security line on many of the new banknotes, especially those of the lower value, has peeled off.
Ali Abdullah, trading at Kisutu Market noted that many traders were not comfortable receiving the new notes for fear of getting loss due to their poor quality.
Aisha Abdallah and Ayubu Mohamed both trading at Kariakoo said when the security line is removed the money becomes useless thus being a liability in their daily business activities.
They displayed a total amount of 60,000/- in low value banknotes, which they claimed had been returned by their customers because of poor quality.
Fidelis Ntima, acting General Manager at the Ferry Fish Market blamed the government for not taking the matter seriously.
He said people should be trained on the proper way of handling the money.
Early this week, the Bank of Tanzania said deterioration of the new banknotes, specifically the low value ones was due to poor handling in daily retail transactions.
But critics rejected the reason calling on the central bank to admit that the new notes were of low quality.
In his response Bank of Tanzania Director of Banking, Emmanuel Boaz dismissed claims that the deterioration of the new bank notes was due to low quality.
He blamed the deterioration on poor handling and continued circulation of the soiled banknotes between buyers and sellers in remote parts of the country.
The fact that retail transactions and business in these markets is characterised with low value transactions makes the low value banknotes (500, 1000, and 2000 shilling denominations) more susceptible to heavier soiling than the higher denomination banknotes (5,000 and 10,000 denominations), he said.
But Dr Donalth Ulomi of the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) concurred that the new notes were of poor quality when compared to the old ones and those from other countries.
He said since BoT was aware of the environment, under which the banknotes were being used, it should have produced them to the quality which could cope with the situation.
He said the old banknotes which are being phased out are of good quality compared to the new ones.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
