From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:

Early in May, the South African Reserve Bank started distributing upgraded bank notes and coins, with the coins depicting new sets of plants and animals for the first time since 1989. The upgraded bank notes and coins continue to reflect South Africa's rich heritage and identity, while having increased security features to curb counterfeiting. Marleny Arnoldi tells us more.

Marleny Arnoldi:

Bank notes and coins must be upgraded periodically to remain aligned with international best practices and improvements in technology. Upgrading bank notes and coins is in everyone's interest, as it preserves the integrity of the currency and curbs counterfeiting, which, if left unchecked, drives up inflation and erodes the value of money.

Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo unpacks the importance of updating the security features of bank notes and the enormous risks and negative impacts of counterfeiting in the country.

Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo:

Marleny Arnoldi:

The latest design of bank notes and coins with the theme "our money our pride" is a culmination of engagements between SARB and its public and private sector stakeholders, including various associations, government departments and the banking sector. The partners have ensured that the upgraded notes and coins reflect South Africa's culture and heritage.

To this end, the rand notes and coins have always represented the country's rich and dark past, from Joachim van Plettenburg first introducing hand-written and stamped paper money in the Cape in 1793 through to when bank notes started being printed in 1803.

Yet there was no central bank to oversee the printing of money and issuing of bank notes until 1921 when the SARB was established. Before then, financial institutions were printing their own currency, which caused instability. South Africa later used the British pound as its currency, before introducing the rand in 1961. The rand was named after Witwatersrand, the region in Gauteng that spawned the gold mining economy.

Since 1994, the design of South Africa's bank notes and coins have gone through shifts in denomination, showing different industries and depicting the country's rich fauna and flora, and, from 2012, the venerable former President Nelson Mandela and some of his key life experiences.

SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago elaborates on the design and security features of the latest bank notes and coins.

SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago:

Sashnee Moodley:

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy. Don’t forget to listen to the audio version of our Engineering News daily email newsletter.