Zimbabwe central bank outlines plans to adopt ZiG as sole currency

Zimbabwe’s central bank has set targets it must achieve before the gold-backed ZiG becomes the nation’s sole currency by the end of the decade.

The southern African nation plans to abandon the use of US dollars in transactions by 2030 and switch to a mono-currency system. Five previous attempts have failed, with the ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold, introduced in April 2024 the latest bid.

The steps include building foreign reserves to three to six months of import cover, reducing annual inflation from 94% to single digits by next year and containing the exchange rate premium between the official and parallel market at less than 30%, the central bank said in a post on its X account on Monday.

The state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper reported that the country has enough reserves to only cover one month of imports, citing Governor John Mushayavanhu.

Under a mono-currency system, individuals and businesses will be allowed to hold local- and foreign-currency denominated accounts but will need to convert foreign currency into ZiG to conduct domestic transactions, the central bank said.

The nation’s lenders will also continue to honour legitimate foreign-currency requirements such as imports, travel and expenses, it said. A top business lobby group last week called for the central bank to formalise and legalise its proclamations on phasing out the dollar.

© 2025 Bloomberg

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