VICE-PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga yesterday warned currency speculators and singled out the retail sector, threatening to shut down supermarkets if they are suspected of sabotaging the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency.
Officially opening the international business conference at
the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, Chiwenga said ZiG was
here to stay.
“ZiG is there to stay forever,” Chiwenga said.
“The new currency will, therefore, not be subject to
exchange rate volatility or manipulation by speculators.
“So, speculators somewhere [wherever you are] jumping
around trying to play around in the supermarkets, we know [you]. Behave or you
get shut down or we will lock you [up]. Two things.”
Government has introduced ZiG to replace the local currency
that had severely lost value after being battered by inflation.
The local currency had been re-introduced in 2019 after
President Emmerson Mnangagwa began his de-dollarisation drive.
Authorities say ZiG is backed by gold and foreign currency
reserves as well as other precious minerals.
ZiG, introduced earlier this month, is currently trading at
around 17 ZiG for one US dollar on the parallel market, although government’s
official exchange rate is 13 ZiG to the US dollar.
“The ZiG is expected to provide a lasting solution to
inflation expectations, which is critical for sustained price and exchange rate
stability in the economy,” Chiwenga said.
“Given these boundless benefits, I, therefore, call on the
public, the private sector, including the households, labour and businesses,
civic society and the international community, to fully embrace and support the
ZiG currency.”
Chiwenga also threatened gold smugglers, declaring that no
single gramme of gold will leave the country unaccounted for, saying the
mineral is needed to back up the new currency.
“We are going to put measures, strict measures, that can
see heads rolling,” he said.
“Every gramme must be accounted for in our gold. We need
our gold and because it is God-given. No one came with gold (to) Zimbabwe, but
it’s in our soil.
“If we don’t want to mine it, it will stay there, but no
one should touch it. So, all our money we are talking about here, the Zimbabwe
Gold, is going to be anchored firmly, by our gold and gold, we get it from all
our resources.”
Previous reports have linked gold dealers and smugglers to
the ruling Zanu PF party, which, however, denies the claims.
In November, a relative of the Mnangagwa family, Henrietta
Rushwaya, was convicted of trying to smuggle gold worth over US$330 000.
Rushwaya, who is president of the Zimbabwe Miners
Federation, was found in 2020 with gold bars weighing 6kg in her handbag at the
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare while headed for the
Middle East.
She was, however, later fined US$5 000 for the offence.
A documentary by the Qatar-based television network, Al
Jazeera, released last year alleged that politically-connected persons were
involved in the smuggling of gold.
Chiwenga said government introduced the structured currency
to ensure a stable macroeconomic environment, free from exchange rate
distortions.
“This bold step symbolises the government’s unwavering
commitment to the de-dollarisation programme, premised on fiscal discipline,
monetary prudence and economic revitalisation,” he said.
“When we talk of, say, predominantly gold, we can’t keep
tonnes of coal in the central bank, or gold or iron, or lithium or platinum, we
will sell them. We have got our gold and we shall dig and every gramme of gold
shall not leave Zimbabwe.”
In addition, he noted that the structured currency was
expected to enable long-term business planning and encourage savings and
investments in the economy.
This, according to him, would go a long way in restoring
confidence in the domestic currency.
“The stability of the ZiG will boost investor confidence in
the economy and lead to increased production and exports. The economy will also
experience an increase in domestic demand as people’s purchasing power
gradually improves amid low and stable prices,” he said.
“Government, through the central bank, will, however,
continue to monitor interest rates to curtail speculative borrowing, to ensure
optimal money supply and to keep inflation under control.” Newsday
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