The Central Bank of Zimbabwe is on course to address the problem of shortage of the nation’s newly introduced currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). According to the Reserve Bank Governor, there are negotiations ongoing to ease the swap, effective from June 10, 2024.
Zimbabwe’s central bank is striving to avert a shortage of the country’s newly introduced currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), amid concerns that the shortage is hampering people’s daily transactions, according to reports. The southern African country launched the gold-backed ZiG on April 5 in hopes of curbing inflation and promoting currency stability.
In a press release on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mushayavanhu announced the bank has entered into an arrangement with its financial services arm, Homelink, to enable the transacting public to swipe for the local currency in denominations of ZiG1, ZiG2, ZiG5, and ZiG10.
The small denominations are meant to provide the transacting public with change while the central bank holds on to the ZiG20, ZiG50, ZiG100, and ZiG200 notes as it seeks to choke the parallel market and stem inflation.
According to figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency on May 29, consumer prices have fallen by 2.4 percent from April. The decline followed ZiG’s launch on April 5 as part of measures to foster exchange rate stability and tame inflation.
Mushayavanhu affirmed the reserve bank is committed to ensuring sufficient local currency circulation to support normal business transactions and economic activity, adding the public can approach their nearest Homelink branch and swipe for ZiG cash using their local currency debit or credit cards with effect from June 10, 2024.
