Zimbabwe has officially got a young currentness called Zimbabwe Gold ( ZiG ) to replace the Zimbabwean dollar , a up-to-dateness with a notorious account of runaway pomposity . However , there are signs the newfangled currency is already zigzagging into trouble .
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwestarted circulatingZiG in April 2024 , set about with electronic defrayment before pluck out note and coins . A total of ZiG 80 million is currently on the market , set withan introductory commutation rateof 13.56 ZiG per US dollar .
While the old Zimbabwean one dollar bill ’s economic value was straight pegged to and supported by the US Dollar , ZiG is stake by the country ’s reserves of foreign currency and cute alloy , in the first place atomic number 79 .
Zimbabwe ’s central banksaidthey made the shift to “ surrogate simplicity , certainty , and predictability in monetary and fiscal involvement . ” However , it looks like the new currency is stick out the same fate as its herald , with some government department refusing to accept it , Associated Pressreports .
There are also concern that ZiG ’s physical banknoteshaven’t reachedsome members of the cosmopolitan public yet and mostly exist digitally . In a country where the electricity supply and cyberspace is unreliable , most shopper and traders are still using the old currency .
The history of Zimbabwe ’s finances has been helter-skelter , to say the least . In the 2000s , the Zimbabwean dollar underwentextreme hyperinflation , driven by inordinate money printing to finance government deficits and economic misdirection .
The crisis peaked in mid - November 2008 with inflation reaching an astronomic charge per unit of 79,600,000,000 percent per calendar month , with prices doubling every 25 hour .
The Zimbabwe clam was scrapped in 2009 and the country used the US dollar and other alien currencies for a decade . By 2019 , the cardinal bank was forced to yield to the Zimbabwe dollar .
Needless to say , decades of financial stability has a terrible impact on human liveliness in Zimbabwe , from aggregate unemployment and social unrest to famine anda crumble wellness system .
ZiG is hoping to reinstall faith and stability , but many people inZimbabweare still suspicious of their government ’s ability to equilibrise the state ’s books .
“ I smell a blackleg here . What is the wisdom of introduce a new currentness when many of us do not trust government policies ? They will sure enough impress more money before long , ” Tino Kapesa , a 23 - year - quondam college student , told theWall Street Journal .
“ I hope the unexampled governor will stabilize the economy because we have suffered for too long , " added Yeukai Chiripanyanga , a taxi driver in the capital Harare .
