Harare, (New Ziana)- In a development expected to assist in promoting the new local currency the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), the government on Tuesday directed its Ministries, departments, agencies, and the
private sector to accept and recognize the unit as the official currency for all financial transactions and payment of goods and services.

In a statement on Tuesday, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said the ZiG should be the default currency for all transactions.

“In light of this, the Ministry emphasises the urgency and importance of a swift transition and market adoption of the ZiG by all stakeholders. We call upon all MDAs and the private sector including retailers, and service providers to accept the ZIG in all financial transactions, including payments of salaries as well as for procurement. This collective effort will contribute to the smooth transition towards a more stable economic environment,” he said.

Ncube said unless there is specific legislation allowing charges or fees to be collected in USD only, all collections by Government and the private sector shall be made in ZiG or any of the currencies in the multi-currency basket without insisting on a specific type of currency or indexing invoices to the United States dollar.

“We urge the media fraternity to support the Government by widely publicizing the new currency in order to promote acceptance and adoption by the market,” he said.

He said to ensure orderly pricing, the government will soon introduce the necessary regulations to ensure that only the official exchange rate will be used for the pricing of goods and services.

The new gold-backed ZiG was launched on April 5 this year at an exchange rate of 13.5 to 1 US dollar, with the public starting to access the bank notes and coins on the 30th of the same month.

Before the release of the physical ZiG notes and coins, the public was transacting electronically after banks and shops successfully configured their systems.

New Ziana