Zimbabwe’s new ZiG currency is still stronger than the rand

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the ZiG, continues to hold firm after its debut, the central bank in the country said.

The currency stands at 13.34 per US dollar, according to data published on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s website on Thursday, 18 April.

By comparison, the South African rand was trading at R18.94/$ at 08:30 on Thursday.

According to the Bloomberg website, the ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, was introduced earlier this month.

It was Zimbabwe’s sixth attempt to resuscitate the local currency.

Its predecessor, the Zimbabwe dollar, lost value every single trading day of this year before being abandoned on April 5.

The ZiG will be “fully anchored and fully backed” by a basket of reserves comprising foreign currency and precious metals – mainly gold, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mushayavanhu said.

The move was aimed at fostering “simplicity, certainty, (and) predictability” in Zimbabwe’s financial affairs, he added, presenting the new banknotes that will come in seven denominations ranging from 1 to 200 ZiG.

ZIMBABWEAN DOLLAR LOST ALMOST 100% OF ITS VALUE AGAINST THE US DOLLAR

The Zimbabwean dollar has lost almost 100 percent of its value against the US greenback over the past year.

Last Friday, it was officially trading at around 30 000 against its more coveted US counterpart – and at 40 000 on the black market, according to tracker Zim Price Check.

Its poor performance contributed to the southern African country’s high inflation rate, which, after climbing well into the triple digits last year, was at 55 percent in March, according to official data.

This has piled pressure on its 16 million people who are already contending with widespread poverty, high unemployment and a severe drought induced by the El Nino weather pattern.

Meanwhile, last month, South Africa’s water and sanitation minister signed a memorandum with his Zimbabwe counterpart for the transfer of treated water.

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