By JAMES KUNDA –

THE Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has dispelled speculations that some coins in circulation contain precious metal warning that destroying currency in any form is criminal.
BoZ head of communications Kanguya Mayondi cautioned that it was a criminal offence to destroy currency and that anyone found committing the crime would be liable to a maximum of two years imprisonment.
Mr Mayondi said in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday that BoZ had received reports that some unscrupulous individuals were buying 50 Ngwee coins with the issue date of 2013 from members of the public, with a view to melting them for their alleged metal content.
He said the intrinsic value of the four coin denominations currently in circulation, namely: K1, 50 Ngwee, 10 Ngwee and 5 Ngwee was far less than their face values.
He said this was because the coins were made of steel blanks which were electroplated, adding that the 50 Ngwee coin denomination was electroplated with bronze.
“Electroplating is the process used to change the surface properties of the steel base in all the coins with a thickness of 25 microns,” he said.
He said the level of thickness of the plating was too thin for anyone to obtain financial value through the melting of the coins and that on the other hand, steel was a common metal which could easily be obtained from scrap metal.
“It should, therefore, be noted that the current Zambian coins do not contain pure metals such copper or gold and members of the public are therefore, advised to only use coins for appropriate transactions and should urgently report to the Bank of Zambia or nearest Police Station, anyone found selling or destroying coins for any perceived extra value,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Mayondi said the BoZ was this year commemorating its 50 years of existence since its establishment in August, 1964 and its Golden Jubilee was being celebrated under the theme: ‘50 Years of Central Banking: Repositioning for the Future.’
“In commemorating this event, a number of activities have been lined up, which include a school quiz across all the 10 provinces of Zambia,” he said.
Mr Mayondi said the quiz was meant to evaluate the level of knowledge that youths had on the role of the central bank in the Zambian economy as well as its operations.
He said the quiz would be conducted in all provinces after which provincial representatives would compete in the quarter finals in Ndola for the northern region and in Lusaka for the southern region.
Mr Mayondi said the semi-finals and the finals would be hosted in Lusaka and preliminary contests were expected to commence on September 15, 2014 in provincial centres.