Mushayavanhu backs ZIG

Norman Dururu

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr. John Mushayavanhu has put his weight behind the recently introduced Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) structured currency.

Speaking during a breakfast meeting organised by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Midlands chapter last Monday, Dr. Mushayavanhu said in the past people would frantically work on removing their local currency in banks and exchange it for the United States dollar as it would be eroded by expenses.

“We want to create a currency that is stable, which is not volatile and can be saved. In the past people would rush to exchange their bond notes once they get into their accounts.

“You will see the vendors, informal traders now coming to bank the extra money that they make as profit and start building up for something they want to invest in,” he said.

Dr Mushayavanhu said there will be no printing of money in excess of what the Central Bank has as that would trigger inflation.

“The amount of ZiG circulating at any time should not exceed the reserves that we have as it will have a bearing on the exchange rate and inflation.

“It is better for me to disappoint a few comrades than making 15 million Zimbabweans suffer,” he said.
The Central Bank Governor said consultations on the ZiG before policy measures were announced had been done as opposed to what the public were saying that the policy statement was made without consultations.

“My appointment was announced on December 8 last year but I had been told by the President Emmerson Mnangagwa that I would be Central Bank Governor on September 11 last year.

“I started working as Governor as far back as September 11, 2023 and we consulted far and wide. We did not come to Gweru but, we talked to representative bodies,” he said.

Dr. Mushayavanhu said they talked to the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Retailers Association of Zimbabwe and civic society among others.

“You will be surprised that a lot of the input came from the stakeholders. We borrowed a lot from the paper that was presented by CZI.

“We did not invent ZiG, it was invented by CZI. They are the ones who said you have gold, why don’t you anchor your currency on gold.

“They the ones who said when you look at the amount of currency in circulation in Zimbabwe, if you convert into United States dollars, you can literally buy it all and start afresh. We did consult far and wide,” he said.

Dr Mushayavanhu said the public should support ZIG as it is anchored on gold and the United States dollars. He said the 2,5 tonnes of gold in the RBZ vaults was recently inspected by President Mnangagwa in the presence of the media.

Meanwhile, the RBZ said the newly introduced ZiG notes and coins will begin circulating on April 30.
In a statement, the Central Bank said the old currency will continue working for a grace period of 21 days, while the ZiG is under production.

“Accordingly, the ZW$ notes and coins will continue to be used for transactional purposes at the ZiG: ZWS conversion factor of 2498.7242 applicable on the 8th of April 2024 within the 21-day transitional period.

“The ZiG notes and coins are by these presents declared to be in production and will start circulating in the economy on 30 April 2024”, read part of the statement.