 At the time of its introduction, the Zimbabwean dollar was worth more than the US dollar in the official exchange market, with 1 ZWD = 1.47 USD, although this did not reflect the actual purchasing power it held.As a result, in both the official and parallel markets, the currency's value eroded rapidly over the years, and by July 2006, the parallel market value of the Zimbabwean dollar fell to Z$1,000,000 = GBP £1.In October 2005, the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr. Gideon Gono, announced that Zimbabwe would have a new currency the following year, and new banknotes and coins would be produced.