Zimbabwe has declared the introduction of a new currency named ZiG, as it has given up its efforts to save the Zimbabwean Dollar.
Gatekeepers News reports that the new currency will be launched on April 8, 2024, with an initial exchange rate of 13.56 per dollar.
Moreover, a new interest rate of 20% has been set, which is in contrast to the earlier rate of 130% on the old Zimbabwean Dollar.
The new currency will be backed by a diverse basket of foreign currencies, gold, and other precious metals.
John Mushayavanhu, the Zimbabwean Central Bank Governor, made this announcement at a press conference in Harare, where he also described the conversion of current Zimbabwean dollar balances held by banks to the new ZiG currency.
He noted, “We want a solid and stable national currency in this country,” he said. “It does not help to print money. Certainly, under my watch it is not going to happen.”
According to Bloomberg, this is the sixth attempt by the Zimbabwean Central Bank to establish a sustainable currency since 2008 when the country’s inflation reached 500 billion percent, which made the country’s currency valueless.
This year, the Zimbabwean dollar has lost about 80% of its value in the official market, making it the second worst-performing currency globally. This significant shift in the currency’s value has resulted in a notable acceleration in inflation, which increased from 47.6% in the preceding month to 55.3% in March.
As a result, more than 80% of transactions in Zimbabwe are now conducted in the US dollars.
