What do you when your currency is worthless? Print some more, of course
Zimbabwe has started circulating a new currency to replace one that has been battered by depreciation and often outright rejection by the people.
A man smiles while holding the new Zimbabwean banknote, called the ZiG, in the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Zimbabwe started circulating banknotes and coins for another new currency Tuesday in its latest attempt to solve a long-running and at times baffling monetary crisis that has seen the government try gold coins and a digital currency among other ideas. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
The ZiG was introduced electronically in early April, but people are now able to use banknotes and coins.
It’s the southern African country’s latest attempt to halt a long-running currency crisis underlining its persistent economic troubles.
The government had previously floated various ideas to replace the Zimbabwe dollar, including gold coins to stem inflation and even trying out a digital currency.
Since it was launched electronically on April 5, the ZiG – short for Zimbabwe Gold and backed by the country’s gold reserves – appears to be heading down the same path of mistrust, with some government departments refusing to accept it.
The ZiG is the sixth currency Zimbabwe has used since the spectacular 2009 collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar amid hyperinflation of five billion per cent, one of the world’s worst currency crashes to date.
That set off a chaotic series of events. First the US dollar was allowed as legal tender, then banned, then unbanned.
A new “bond note” became legal tender, the Zimbabwe dollar was reintroduced before the gold coins and digital currency were tried.
However, nothing brought any currency stability and the US dollar remained the most trusted for ordinary Zimbabweans.
As the shiny new ZiG banknotes hit the streets, the mistrust was evident.
Kudzanayi Mande, a vegetable trader at the crowded Mbare market in the capital of Harare, said she would rather forgo a sale than accept the ZiG.
“Already there is an official exchange rate and a depreciated black market rate, so I will wait a bit to see what its real value is,” she said.
The government has allowed some businesses, such as gas stations, to refuse to accept the ZiG in favour of US dollars. Some departments, like the office that issues and renews passports, accept only US dollars.
At the same time, other businesses are being ordered to only use the ZiG, and face punishment if they don’t.
Many in Zimbabwe still remember when a 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollar banknote was printed in 2009 at the height of the hyperinflation to keep up with spiraling prices.
At one point, a loaf of bread cost more than 500 million Zimbabwe dollars. Prices would change from when customers walked into a grocery store to when they lined up to pay at the cash register.
Authorities say they have faith in the ZiG because it’s backed by the country’s gold reserves.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a speech on Monday it was a matter of “our national identity and dignity” to trust the ZiG.
