Zimbabwe maintains passport fees in US dollars

Zimbabwe citizens will continue paying passport fees in US dollars, despite the introduction of a new currency last month, the deputy finance minister has said.

David Kuda Mnangagwa said on Monday that there was a pre-existing agreement between the government and the Lithuanian passport printing company, Garsu Pasaulis, for the passport fees to be charged in dollars.

Zimbabwe introduced a new gold-backed currency called Zig - the name stands for "Zimbabwe Gold" - in an attempt to stabilize its ailing economy.

It replaced the Zimbabwean dollar, the RTGS, that had lost three-quarters of its value so far this year.

The move to continue charging passport fees in dollars has sparked criticism in the country, with some Zimbabweans saying it portrays lack of confidence in the new currency.

"As long as the Zig is not accepted by its issuer, the government, it will soon become worthless," prominent journalist Hopewell Chin'ono said on X (formerly Twitter).

Zimbabwe's government increased the passport fees to $200 (£160), up from $120 last December.