The use of Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) for domestic transactions has increased to 39 per cent since its introduction in April 2024, according to a senior government official.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Economic Society and Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (ZES/FES) mid-term budget breakfast meeting in Harare on August 21, Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga said that ZiG now represents 39 per cent of domestic transactions, up from 30 per cent in April.
He added that the remaining 61 per cent of transactions continue to be conducted in foreign currency, primarily US dollars.
Guvamatanga also highlighted that most of the local currency is being used for electronic transactions rather than physical notes and coins. He said (via The Herald):
To say that the ZiG is not circulating is not correct, the ZiG has been accepted in the market but it is only circulating in electronic form.
When we introduced the ZiG, the portion of transactions was 80-20 per cent and now we are at 61-39 per cent so there has been a very marked increase in the use and acceptance of ZiG, we are seeing more transactions in ZiG.
From a Government revenue perspective, it is the same. There is also movement from this 80-20 percent and now we are at 61-39 percent.
The ZiG is stable, but we just need to make sure that the smaller physical notes and coins circulate to where it is required.
At the beginning of the year and throughout much of last year, the USD accounted for approximately 80 per cent of local transactions due to the rapid depreciation of the Zimbabwe Dollar.
The introduction of the ZiG has provided some stability; however, the persistent shortage of foreign currency continues to be a significant challenge for Zimbabwe’s economy.
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