The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Dr John Panonetsa Mangudya has said the Mosia-oa-Tunya gold coins which the central bank intends to introduce on the 25th of July 2022 can also benefit ordinary Zimbabweans.
The central bank announced late last month its plans to introduce gold coins into the market as an instrument that will enable investors to store value.
According to Mandudya, ordinary Zimbabweans will ”benefit because if we don’t go to the parallel market, the parallel market rate stabilises and the ordinary person will benefit more from the stability that these gold coins, all things being equal, will achieve”. He added:
When there is stability, money will have value and result in stable prices.
Economist Dr Prosper Chitambara is quoted by The Herald as saying:
The coins are a noble idea and they offer another avenue for investors to save value as gold rarely goes wrong. It is also interesting that the gold coins will be held for at least six months meaning that those who look to dispose of local currency will definitely reduce money supply.
The Herald cites economic analyst Tinevimbo Shava as saying the coins definitely need to be scarce in order to increase their demand power from both locals and international buyers, which will help in its pricing in the market. Shava added:
As well the bank has done well on the holding period in order to reduce buying and dumping behaviour in the market.
Gold only lost 3 per cent of its peak international price, year on year in 2021, but looking at the 2022 outlook gold seems one of the most attractive investment options amid increased recession expectations and rising global inflation.
This is happening as the Zimbabwean dollar continues to shed value against other currencies both on the formal and informal foreign exchange markets.