RECENTLY,the shortage of coins hit Chipata in Eastern Province.

A lot of people, like taxi drivers in Southern Province as well, complained that they were finding it hard to conduct their business due to the shortage of coins which is critical to their trade.

The traders, mostly marketeers, appealed to Government to intervene because they were finding it difficult to conduct business without more coins being in circulation.

For marketeers coins make their lives easier, as it makes it easy for them to give change. In an event where the circulation of coins, is limited, it becomes very difficult for both traders and customers to be precise in terms of change.

Every coin counts, which is why, some people have a habit of collecting coins, for various reasons, one which is in the hope of making a fortune, should some tourists want some souvenir in the near future.

Most of the times, when one held, coins they never come back into the banking system, therefore causing a circulation problem.

There is no doubt that small-time traders depend heavily on coins if they are to give correct change to their customers, who ironically are supreme culprits as far as holding on to coins is concerned.

At the same time, customers are not wrong to ask for correct whenever they have bought some items.

Often times, customers are choosy about the coins they want.

But the shortage of coins in some parts of the country is real.

Recently, Deputy Minister of Finance Keith Mukata was taken to task in Parliament over the same.

He was asked to explain to the House why the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) did not consider minting one ngwee coins during the rebasing of the local currency.

Opposition Members of Parliament (MP) queried the deputy minister on whether Government was considering reverting to the old one Kwacha note instead of using coins which the general public was discarding.

In response, Mr Mukata told the house that the BoZ was still studying the concerns being raised by the public before it makes an official position

Another lawmaker who was concerned with the shortage of coins was Sinda MP Levy Ngoma, who said people in Eastern Province were facing huge challenges in changing money as the region was facing a shortage of coins.

However, the minister assured the house that the printing of coins was an on-going process and that the public should expect to see more coins offloaded on the market eventually.

And Mr Ngoma asked the deputy minister if the ministry of finance was aware that Eastern province has run out of coins, saying as more money would be printed, coins would be squarely distributed to all parts of the country.

The minister disclosed that that BoZ had contracted a South African-based company called South African Mint Company to mint 232 million coins for 2012 at a cost of US$3.81 million.

In April 2013, 61,956,000 coins were delivered to BoZ at a cost of US$1.05 million.

However, the Central Bank says it has off-loaded enough coins to cater for all parts of the country. This follows the current shortage of coins which was being experienced in some parts of the country.

BoZ acting director for banking, currency, and payment systems, Fabian Hara, was quoted in the media recently as encouraging people to access coins from commercial banks in designated areas.

It is a fact, that the shortage of coins in most parts of the country could affect various business entities, the latest being taxi operators in Choma District, Southern Province.

He attributed the shortage of coins in Chipata to people keeping them in their homes as opposed to releasing them in circulation.

"I must confess that when coins go out of the banking system, they go into the market.

"In fact, there is a tendency by the public to go and keep these coins in the house; they go and store these coins," he said.

His argument was that, when people hold on to coins, the market eventually gets starved thereby causing a shortage.

True, there is need for people to release coins, as they have value. Much more, they are needed to be going round the market for everyone's use and advantage.

"We have also been to two of the biggest supermarkets here where we discussed the same problems. We are trying to gather information that will help us to ensure that the demand in Chipata is met. We are aware that the economy in Chipata has grown and this calls for more currency and we will certainly make them available," he was quoted.

The coin shortage has been brought about by a combination of several factors one of which as Mr Hara alluded to is that people are holding on to too many coins for various reasons..

There is also another argument that coins are too heavy or cumbersome to carry, compared to paper money which is light. For this reason, some people would rather keep the coins at home in a tin other than subjecting themselves to the burden of carrying them everywhere they go.

Further, some people collect and keep coins as hobby. It is a hobby that people all over the world like to do.

As a matter of fact, people who collect coins are called numismatists and it's a hobby just like stamp collection. Some reasons why people collect is that the coins for a reason have likeable designs on them, they are interested in the history of coins among others.

However, holding on to coins may have some negative effect on commerce and trade, which is why people should heed the call by BoZ to release them so that they go round in circulation.

Coins were first issued in 1968 in denominations of bronze 1 and 2 ngwee and cupro-nickel 5¸ 10 and 20 ngwee. The Bank of Zambia again issued copper-clad-steel coins in 1982 which replaced previous bronze coins.

However¸ the Bank of Zambia ceased the production of the 5 and 10 ngwee in 1987 and again 20 ngwee coins in 1988. The new coinage was started in 1992 in denominations of nickel-plated-steel 25 and 50 ngwee and brass 1¸ 5 and 10 kwacha.

On January 1, 2013, Government reintroduced the coins, which came with the landmark rebasing of the Kwacha.

Ultimately, it is great to note that the Central Bank moved in quickly to address the shortage of coins, especially in Chipata, where officials were sent on the ground.

Although considered cumbersome to carry, coins can be such a marvel to hold no especially among the young ones wonder some people do not want to let go off them.