Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere has said the public should ignore negative comments about the new currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), especially on social media.
Muswere described those who criticise ZiG as prophets of doom and social media terrorists.
Addressing a media workshop organised by the National Aids Council (NAC) in Kadoma last week, Muswere said President Mnangagwa made the unprecedented decision of inviting the media to see the opening of vaults at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). He said (via The Sunday Mail):
The ZiG is our currency which gives us the freedom and right to self-determination.
The President is a transparent and accountable visionary leader. He allowed media houses to be part of the inspection of the vaults at the RBZ to see the gold reserves being used to back our currency. All that was part of confidence-building ahead of the launch of the ZiG.
We should all ignore the alarmists and prophets of doom.
Yes, the freedom of expression is enshrined in the Constitution and as the Government, we respect that. But we want ethical journalism that is factual and accurate.
There are plenty of alarmists and social media terrorists who are blind to see the thousands of infrastructure projects that have been completed by the Second Republic.
We have completed roads, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, the new Parliament building, dams, power stations, houses and courts.
However, Zimbabweans’ scepticism toward authorities’ assertions about ZiG is well-founded. The Government’s track record with bond notes and coins undermines their credibility and the fact that ZiG cannot be used for purchasing fuel or paying passport fees further fuels this mistrust.
On 10 October 2018, Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana tweeted that the bond note was backed by an African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) facility. He said:
After Afreximbank has offered Zimbabwe a facility to back the Bond note so its value remains at equity with the USD, one hopes that the right institutions will deal with those who are “burning” cash and their alleged godparents. Greedy few should not [make] many suffer.
However, five and a half years later, Mangwana shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) on April 14, 2024, quoting the new RBZ Governor, John Mushayavanhu: “We had a situation, as I said earlier, RTGS and bond notes were not backed by anything, so we cannot link ZiG to the old currency; it’s a different currency altogether.”
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