Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will maintain an aggressive push towards a mono-currency system, leveraging the broad successes of 2025 as a foundation for economic stability while stressing that the transition will be a multi-stage process rather than an overnight shift.
However, in the bank’s five-year strategic plan, central bank governor Dr John Mushayavanhu said transition to a single currency would only proceed once the fundamentals are firmly in place and that those fundamentals are non-negotiable.
These include sustained single-digit inflation; foreign-currency reserves sufficient to cover three to six months of imports, a unified and efficient foreign-exchange system and stable exchange rates with minimal distortions around the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG).
Other conditions precedent include deeper demand for ZiG, driven by tax incentives and public-sector usage; a sound financial sector anchored by a robust national payments system and tight fiscal-monetary coordination to keep deficits low and sustainable.
Representing RBZ governor Dr John Mushayavanhu at the State of the Economy and 2026 Economic Outlook breakfast meeting in Harare, deputy governor Dr Innocent Matshe said a domestic currency was a non-negotiable prerequisite for national competitiveness.
To support this transition, the RBZ said that durable, modern and secure banknotes would be released late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2026.
Independent think tank, the Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS), in partnership with Business Times, organised the breakfast meeting.
Since its introduction in April 2024 as a structured currency backed by gold and foreign currency reserves, the ZiG has achieved huge milestones, showing remarkable resilience, taming inflation and stabilising the exchange rate.
Zimbabwe experienced significant inflation stabilisation in 2025, with annual rates dropping sharply from a high of 95,8 percent in July to a low of 15 percent by December, while the monthly rate averaged 0,4 percent from February to December.
The domestic currency has firmed by 1,5 percent since the beginning of 2026 after firming to 25,5902 from an opening rate of 25, 9807 against the US dollar.
“Overall, the Reserve Bank will aim to entrench macroeconomic stability in support of the roadmap to mono-currency and attainment of National Development Strategy 2 objectives of realising a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030,” said Dr Matshe.
“For our exports to remain competitive, for our economy to be competitive, we need to have our own currency.”
Zimbabwe officially legalised the continued use of the multi-currency system until December 31, 2030, providing a clear legal framework for the use of the US dollar alongside the local currency.
