The government is trying to persuade citizens to use its own currency more widely, with the longer-term aim of reducing reliance on the US dollar.
asserted
government → try → dollar
But after years of currency instability, many remain reluctant to trust the latest attempt.
asserted
many → remain → attempt
The Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), introduced in April 2024, is a government effort to restore confidence in the local currency.
asserted
Gold → introduce → currency
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says the currency is backed by foreign currency and precious metal reserves, including gold.
asserted
currency → say → gold
Yet the challenge extends beyond introducing a new currency or strengthening its reserves.
asserted
challenge → extend → reserves
Zimbabweans who have watched their savings lose value and their wages shrink through successive currency crises remain cautious about holding money in a currency whose purchasing power they fear could deteriorate.
uncertain
they → watch → currency
Zimbabwe abandoned its local currency in 2009 after a period of hyperinflation and adopted a multicurrency system dominated by the US dollar.
asserted
Zimbabwe → abandon → dollar
A domestic currency returned in 2018, but repeated instability has made rebuilding public confidence difficult.
asserted
rebuilding → return → confidence
The cost of lost confidence
For primary school teacher Charles Mbwandarikwa, the experience of earlier currency crises remains a warning.
asserted
experience → lose → crises
He receives about a third of his salary in ZiG and says he exchanges it quickly rather than holding on to it.
asserted
he → receive → it
His caution stems from the losses he suffered when Zimbabwe’s previous currency collapsed.
asserted
currency → stem → losses
He lost his pension savings during the 2009 crisis.
asserted
He → lose → crisis
When the local currency was reintroduced in 2018, he says, the value of his salary fell from the equivalent of $540 to $40 by the end of that year.
asserted
value → reintroduce → year
Such experiences help explain why official assurances about the ZiG have not necessarily translated into confidence among earners.
asserted
assurances → help → earners
The RBZ has sought to strengthen the currency’s credibility.
asserted
RBZ → seek → credibility
On April 7 , the bank introduced an upgraded series of ZiG banknotes with revised designs and security features.
asserted
bank → introduce → designs
According to the RBZ, annual ZiG inflation stood at 3.7 percent last month.
uncertain
inflation → accord → percent
But relatively low inflation alone does not guarantee that people will choose to save in the currency or use it for everyday transactions.
asserted
people → guarantee → transactions
Economist Cornelius Dube says demand for the ZiG remains weak.
asserted
demand → say → ZiG
“ZiG has to be available in a ratio relative to its demand.
asserted
ZiG → have → demand
Demand for ZiG is currently very subdued,” he says.
asserted
he → say → ZiG
A currency few customers use
For businesses, the currency’s acceptance by customers is a practical test of whether it can gain a larger role in the economy.
asserted
it → use → economy
Sesedzai Chigumira, a clothing retailer, says she has made only a handful of sales in ZiG.
asserted
she → say → ZiG.
Her experience reflects the difficulty in encouraging wider use of a currency when customers and businesses remain more comfortable transacting in US dollars.
asserted
customers → reflect → dollars
The government’s push to reduce dollar dependence also faces a broader challenge: the existence of gold and other mineral resources does not, by itself, guarantee confidence in a currency.
asserted
existence → reduce → currency
People must believe that it will retain its value and remain useful for paying for goods, meeting expenses and saving for the future.
asserted
it → believe → future
Where businesses expect customers to prefer dollars, they may be reluctant to price goods or accept payments in ZiG.
uncertain
they → expect → ZiG.
Consumers, in turn, have little incentive to hold the local currency if they fear that its value could fall.
uncertain
value → have → currency
That creates a cycle that policy measures alone may struggle to break.
uncertain
measures → create → that
What it will take to win trust
The RBZ has moved away from its previous target of adopting a single currency by 2030, instead outlining a gradual, market-led transition towards greater use of the ZiG.
asserted
RBZ → take → ZiG.
The approach depends on sustained macroeconomic stability and conditions that encourage businesses and consumers to use the currency voluntarily.
asserted
that → depend → currency
The central bank has also sought to expand the ZiG’s role in domestic transactions, including through its use in tax payments and public-sector transactions, alongside measures affecting the foreign exchange and national payments systems.
But wider use in payments is not the same as confidence in a currency as a store of value.
asserted
use → seek → value
People may use ZiG when required or when circumstances leave them little choice without being willing to keep their savings in it.
uncertain
circumstances → use → it
For Mbwandarikwa, the memory of losing his pension savings remains part of the calculation.
asserted
memory → lose → calculation
For Chigumira, the limited number of customers paying in ZiG shows how far the currency still has to go to become a routine part of business.
asserted
currency → pay → business
Dube says de-dollarisation is possible, but it cannot be achieved overnight.
asserted
it → say → ?
“History shows that it is possible to de-dollarise, though it’s not easy.
asserted
it → show → ?
It takes time,” he says.
asserted
he → take → time
For Zimbabweans who have lived through repeated currency crises, the test will be whether the ZiG can preserve their earnings and savings over time.
asserted
ZiG → live → time
Expanding its use through policy may be possible, but persuading people to trust it will require sustained stability and confidence in the currency.
uncertain
persuading → expand → currency
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
