Claim: Gold coins will replace the Zim dollar in July.
Verdict: INCORRECT
Since Zimbabwe’s central bank said it would start selling gold coins this month as a store of value to tame the runaway inflation, some citizens believe these gold coins are coming in to replace the Zimbabwean Dollar.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the gold coins would be available for sale from July 25, 2022, in local currency, US dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost of production.
The gold coins will contain one troy ounce of gold and will be sold by Fidelity Gold Refinery, Aurex, and local banks, RBZ added.
However, social circles are rife with claims that the gold coins will replace the ‘considerably’ weakened Zimbabwean dollar when they are introduced and will become the only sole currency.
But these claims are false as the gold coins are coming in to store value of the Zimbabwean Dollar
“No, these gold coins are not coming to replace the ZimDollar, not at all. The principle behind introducing gold coins is having another vehicle of currency, where the gold coins are mainly used as a store of value than anything else,” said Morris Mpala, a business economist in an interview with CITE.
“We have seen so much pressure in terms of going via the US dollar route, where once you have so much pressure off the ZWL going the USD route, the exchange rate is affected.”
The economist added the concept of introducing the gold coins was to reduce demand for the US dollar, so that someone with ZimDollars can also buy the coins.
“RBZ’s idea was that people will no longer be chasing the US dollar. Once people start using the ZWL to chase the gold coins, they will no longer be chasing the USD, so there could be stability on the price of the ZWL to the USD,” he said
