Online Reporter
FOR decades, Zimbabwe’s monetary policy has been a story of turbulence, with currency collapses and debilitating inflation eroding public trust and economic stability. However, a significant shift is underway.
Under the stewardship of Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu, the country is now, more than at any time in its recent history, closer to the sole use of its local currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG).
This progress is not tied to an arbitrary date but is anchored in a prudent, conditions-based approach that prioritises sustainable macroeconomic stability over rushed implementation.
The cornerstone of this strategy is the establishment of eight “conditions precedent” (CPs) that must be met to ensure a successful and durable transition.
The central bank has rightly decoupled the mono-currency plan from a fixed timeline, prioritising economic fundamentals over a calendar deadline.
This cautious approach is designed to avoid the policy reversals that have plagued past currency reforms.
Remarkably, the country has already achieved six of the eight conditions.
Sustained single-digit inflation has been recorded since January 2026, with annual ZiG inflation averaging a historic low of 4,4 percent in the first half of the year .
This feat, unseen for over three decades, is a testament to the tight monetary and fiscal policies that have been implemented.
The financial sector remains robust, and the National Payments System is efficient and secure.
Furthermore, the willing-buyer, willing-seller foreign exchange system has been functioning effectively, ensuring market clearing and exchange rate stability.
While the progress is commendable, two critical conditions are still in progress.
The first is the need for adequate foreign currency reserves, targeting three to six months of import cover.
While reserves have grown significantly to US$1,6 billion — a fivefold increase since ZiG’s introduction — they currently stand at 1,6 months of import cover.
The second is the need for a further, sustainable increase in domestic demand for ZiG.
While its use has grown from 26 percent to roughly 40 percent of electronic transactions, the economy remains largely dollarised, with surveys indicating that a significant majority of firm-level transactions are still settled in USD .
Achieving full monetary sovereignty by exclusively using ZiG offers profound benefits.
For a nation aspiring to be modern, industrialised and prosperous, a national currency is a fundamental tool for development.
It restores a nation’s ability to finance large-scale infrastructure projects and pursue a long-term developmental strategy.
A country without control over its monetary system, like Zimbabwe under full dollarisation, is structurally incapacitated, leaving it unable to leverage its own financial resources for transformational projects.
Dollarisation, while providing a veneer of stability, actually represents a stagnation where the State forfeits its most vital tool of sovereign development finance.
Since September 2024, the economic stability has been palpable.
Month-on-month inflation has remained subdued, and the exchange rate has oscillated within a remarkably stable range of ZiG25-ZiG27 against the US dollar, a level of predictability rarely seen in the country’s recent history.
The parallel market premium has been contained, and the Government has maintained a zero-budget deficit financing policy with the central bank since April 2024.
This newfound stability is the bedrock upon which the final push towards a mono-currency must be built.
As Zimbabwe stands on the precipice of this historic transition, it must not be swayed by impatience.
The Government’s conditions-based approach is the only safeguard against a repeat of past mistakes.
Patience in meeting the final conditions on reserves and demand will ensure ZiG is not just a currency, but a credible, enduring symbol of Zimbabwe’s economic independence and a powerful tool for its future prosperity.
As Zimbabwe stands on the cusp of full monetary sovereignty, the question is no longer if the transition will happen, but when.
And when it does, the increased use of ZiG will provide precisely the tailwinds needed to transform the current green shoots of economic stability into a sustained, broad-based growth trajectory.
So, overall, the final push towards mono-currency will mark the culmination of a journey that has been painful but necessary.
It will herald an era in which Zimbabwe’s economic destiny is once again in its own hands — a destiny defined not by the whims of external shocks, but by the ingenuity, resilience and productive capacity of its own people.
Bongani Ndlovu