Source: RBZ launches schools monetary policy challenge – herald
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro-Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is rolling out a schools-based monetary policy challenge aimed at deepening financial literacy and giving learners practical exposure to how the economy works.
Speaking at an induction workshop on Tuesday, senior RBZ officials said the Schools Monetary Policy Challenge (SMPC) seeks to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world economic management, while also cultivating a new generation of economically aware citizens.
The initiative comes at a time when Zimbabwe is seeking to consolidate currency and price stability following years of exchange rate volatility and inflationary pressures.
According to the RBZ, the competition will allow secondary and high school learners to simulate the role of central bank officials, including acting as “Child RBZ Governors” and Deputy Governors, while tackling practical monetary policy and financial literacy assignments.
RBZ Director of Corporate Affairs Mrs Melody Harry said the programme was not merely an academic competition, but part of a broader strategy to improve economic awareness among young Zimbabweans.
“Education plays a critical role in shaping financially literate and economically aware citizens,” she said in a presentation during the workshop.
“There is a growing need to bridge the gap between theory and real-world economic understanding.”
Mrs Harry said the challenge would expose learners to national economic issues while sharpening their analytical, research and communication skills.
Under the programme, learners will compete at cluster, district, provincial and national levels, with assignments focusing on financial literacy, community engagement and monetary policy presentations.
Each school team will comprise a Child Governor, two Deputy Governors and a teacher coordinator. National winners will be crowned at a ceremony presided over by the RBZ Governor.
The central bank said the initiative aligns with the Government’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 framework, which promotes innovation, problem-solving and practical learning.
“The SMPC not only teaches about monetary policy and financial literacy, but also helps build skills for innovation and national development,” Mrs Harry noted.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is expected to play a central role in implementing the programme across the country.
In another presentation during the induction workshop, RBZ Director of Economic Policy Dr Nesbert Mupunga outlined how monetary policy is formulated and implemented in Zimbabwe, while explaining the recent progress made in stabilising the economy.
Dr Mupunga said the RBZ’s primary mandate remained maintaining price stability and safeguarding the financial system.
He explained that Zimbabwe currently operates under a hybrid monetary policy framework in which reserve money acts as the operational target, while the exchange rate serves as the intermediate target.
The framework, he said, is aimed at indirectly controlling inflation through money supply and exchange rate management.
Among the tools used by the central bank are the bank policy rate, open market operations and statutory reserves.
Dr Mupunga said the RBZ issues two Monetary Policy Statements each year, supported by quarterly Monetary Policy Committee meetings that determine the country’s policy direction and interest rate framework.
He also highlighted the increasing importance of communication in monetary policy implementation, saying the RBZ had intensified stakeholder consultations, surveys and public communication efforts.
These include the ZiG Perception and Confidence Survey, banking sector surveys, weekly and quarterly economic bulletins and stakeholder engagements under the “RBZ Consults” platform.
According to the RBZ, the country’s monetary policy environment has improved significantly over the past year.
The central bank said annual inflation had fallen sharply from 95.8 percent in July 2025 to single-digit levels beginning in January 2026, reaching 4.1 percent.
Authorities also said exchange rate stability had improved, with the ZiG trading largely between ZiG25 and ZiG27 against the US dollar since September 2024, while the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates had narrowed considerably.
The RBZ further reported sustained growth in foreign currency reserves, stronger demand for the ZiG and continued banking sector stability.
The schools challenge is expected to become one of the centrepieces of Zimbabwe’s annual Global Money Week commemorations, with awareness campaigns now set to cover all provinces instead of only selected regions.
Mrs Harry said the expanded outreach was meant to ensure “no province, no district, no cluster is left behind” in promoting financial literacy and economic awareness among learners.
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