President Emmerson Mnangagwa has claimed that the Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins introduced in July this year have mopped up close to $10 billion from the parallel market.
Writing in his weekly column in the Sunday Mail, the president claimed that Zimbabweans have an appetite for gold coins, hence government will introduce smaller coins next month. He said:
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has sold over 10 000 gold coins for about US$15 million. This means Zimbabweans have an appetite for gold coins and to save. Our target is to release US$30 million worth of coins.
By mid-November this year, the RBZ should be in a position to unveil smaller denominations of gold coins, whose value will range from a tenth, a quarter, to half of an ounce.
This allows more Zimbabweans to participate, including those in lower-income bands. That way, we buoy our currency, while stimulating national savings.
Finance ministry spokesperson Clive Mpambela said the gold coins were effective in stabilising the exchange market in addition to other initiatives by the government including the value for money initiative.
Economist Persistence Gwanyanya said in the face of increased instability, gold coins were a viable alternative to restore the value of the local currency.
The gold coins were introduced on the 25 of July 2022 with multi-dimensional objectives, including clearing excess liquidity which was considered a factor behind the freefall of the local currency.
However, some analysts, however, say the introduction of smaller gold coins will not assist the country’s economic growth as government needs to support the weak productive sector more to achieve economic growth.
Analyst Effie Ncube told NewsDay that while gold coins might temporarily slow down inflation and reduce pressure on the exchange rate, the government needs a holistic approach to addressing the country’s economic crisis.