"Government Must Admit ZiG Lost Validity And Take Corrective Action"
Top lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu said the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) ceased to be a valid currency as of October 5, 2024.
He criticised the government’s recent attempt to revive the currency through the Finance Act on Sunday, October 27, calling it futile since the ZiG had already lost its validity.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Mpofu urged the government to acknowledge its mismanagement of the currency issue and take corrective action. Said Mpofu:
As of October 4, 2024, the statutory instrument that introduced the ZIG currency expired without extension. Consequently, from October 5, 2024, the ZIG ceased to be a valid currency in Zimbabwe, leaving the US dollar as the sole currency.
In a belated but incompetent attempt, authorities tried to revive the ZIG through the Finance Act on Sunday October 27, 2024 (This had been hinted on in the Friday Gazette but the Act had not been published). However, this effort was futile since the ZIG had already lost its validity.
Moreover, Section 21 of the Finance Act’s attempt to retroactively validate the ZIG is unlawful, as it contradicts Section 6 of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act.
The explicit reference to the expired statutory instrument in Section 21 only reinforces this illegality in that it establishes the connection between the S.I and the Act (A clever person would have avoided that connection).
This is a festival of illegalities and absurdities. Government should take responsibility, apologize and implement a lawful solution – one that fortunately exists.
An economist who spoke to NewsDay on Sunday night suggested that the government’s “inertia” indicates a deliberate effort to sabotage the ZiG. Said the expert:
The inertia shows that government is sabotaging the ZiG. A country that wants to promote the use of a local currency under the de-dollarisation roadmap should not be making these schoolboy blunders.
What will government do if shops refuse accepting the ZiG? We are skating on thin ice and the sooner we act, the better.
The local currency has undergone six name changes but has yet to achieve stability, confidence, trust, or sustainability.
Its previous iterations include the original currency post-independence, that is, the Zimbabwe dollar, then later bearers’ cheques, traveller’s cheques, bond notes, RTGS dollars, and now ZiG.
More: Pindula News
