Tendai Ruben Mbofana
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) wants the nation to applaud it for what it calls the “stability” of the ZiG.
To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08
Officials boast that inflation is tumbling, the exchange rate is holding firm, and confidence is being restored.
Yet, behind this narrative of apparent success lies a glaring contradiction that exposes the fragility—and indeed, the illusion—of this so-called stability.
At the heart of the RBZ’s strategy is one simple claim: the ZiG is stable because it is scarce.
In the Bank’s own words, “People are saying, where is the ZiG? We can’t find the ZiG. That’s a tight monetary policy stance that controls inflation.”
This statement, made by Deputy Director for Strategy, Policy and External Affairs Albert Norumedzo, captures the absurdity of Zimbabwe’s current monetary thinking.
How can we claim a currency is stable when it is practically unavailable?
How does making money inaccessible build public confidence or drive economic activity?
This logic is akin to a man who proudly declares that his watch is waterproof, yet never dares to let it near water.
A currency that cannot freely circulate among the people, that cannot facilitate daily trade, that cannot function as a reliable medium of exchange or store of value, cannot reasonably be described as “stable.”
It is not stability—it is sterilization.
The truth is, the ZiG’s supposed stability is being propped up by deliberate scarcity, not genuine economic fundamentals.
The RBZ has manufactured an artificial calm by restricting liquidity to such an extent that the currency barely participates in the real economy.
That calm, however, will not last.
It is deceptive stability—an illusion maintained by suppressing supply, not by fostering confidence.
A strong currency derives its value from the productive capacity of the economy and the public’s faith in its ability to hold value over time.
Neither of these conditions currently exists in Zimbabwe.
The economy remains largely informal, industrial production is stagnant, and public confidence in the local currency has been shattered after two decades of repeated currency failures.
The only reason the ZiG has not collapsed like its predecessors is because most Zimbabweans simply don’t use it.
The U.S. dollar dominates every corner of the economy—from supermarkets to street vendors—and the government itself conducts most of its major transactions in USD.
Even when Zimbabweans do get hold of the ZiG, usually unwillingly through salaries paid in the local currency, they immediately dispose of it—rushing to convert it into U.S. dollars or goods before it loses further value.
This is the real reason why the ZiG appears “stable”: it is protected from public use.
If the USD were removed from circulation today, as the government ambitiously plans to do by 2030, the country would immediately plunge into a cash crisis.
Prices would spike, black-market rates would soar, and inflation would once again spiral out of control.
What we are witnessing now is not a testament to good monetary management, but rather a symptom of a dual economy where the local currency is marginalized to maintain the illusion of order.
Confidence cannot be engineered through manipulation.
It must be earned through sound fiscal management, transparency, and consistent economic performance.
A currency’s strength depends on trust—trust that it will retain purchasing power, trust that government policies are predictable, and trust that monetary authorities act in the public’s interest.
Zimbabwe’s monetary authorities, however, have forfeited that trust time and again through policy inconsistency, opaque decision-making, and politically motivated economic management.
The people’s reluctance to embrace the ZiG is therefore not irrational—it is rational self-protection.
To its credit, the RBZ acknowledges that excessive money printing was the root cause of previous hyperinflation episodes.
But in its overcorrection, it has swung to the opposite extreme: strangling liquidity to the point of paralysis.
Economic stability does not come from starving the system of money—it comes from balancing money supply with real production and market demand.
When the RBZ withholds payments to contractors and exporters under the guise of “tight monetary control,” it is not demonstrating discipline—it is inflicting pain on the productive sector.
Businesses struggle to operate, exporters delay remittances, and service providers reduce their activities.
This suppresses growth, deters investment, and ultimately undermines the very stability the RBZ claims to be building.
Furthermore, it is disingenuous for the RBZ to claim that the exchange rate is stable because of disciplined management, when in fact it remains heavily controlled.
The so-called market-driven rate is little more than an administrative construct.
Real market forces have been sidelined by regulatory interventions, delayed payments, and informal controls.
The stability of the ZiG’s exchange rate is therefore not a reflection of underlying strength but the result of a tightly managed system where demand is constrained and access is limited.
The danger of this approach is that it creates complacency.
Policymakers begin to believe their own propaganda, mistaking temporary calm for genuine progress.
Meanwhile, the structural weaknesses of the economy remain unaddressed—low productivity, weak exports, high import dependence, corruption, and chronic fiscal indiscipline.
Tight monetary control may suppress symptoms, but it does not cure the disease.
Without tackling the underlying causes of instability, the moment liquidity is restored, the same inflationary pressures will resurface.
What Zimbabwe needs is not monetary acrobatics but real reform.
The government must align its fiscal policies with monetary policy, ensuring that spending is disciplined and transparent.
Productive sectors must be revitalized through investment in manufacturing, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Corruption must be confronted head-on, and public institutions must rebuild their credibility.
Only when the economy produces real value can the currency truly become stable.
Until then, the ZiG will remain a phantom currency—visible in policy statements but absent in people’s pockets.
The current illusion of stability will persist only as long as the RBZ keeps the currency under lock and key.
But no economy can thrive when its people cannot freely access or use their own money.
A healthy currency circulates; it facilitates trade, supports business, and reflects confidence in the future.
What we have instead is a monetary mirage.
In truth, the RBZ’s current posture betrays a deeper insecurity: a government that does not trust its own currency and a central bank that does not trust its own people.
The authorities would rather celebrate scarcity than confront the fundamental weaknesses of the economy.
They call this “discipline,” but it is really fear—fear that if the ZiG were allowed to circulate freely, it would quickly reveal its true fragility.
Zimbabweans have seen this movie before.
Each time, the government insists that the latest currency is different, that this time discipline will prevail.
Yet every attempt has ended the same way—collapse, chaos, and loss of savings.
Unless there is a complete paradigm shift toward transparency, accountability, and genuine economic reform, the ZiG will be no exception.
A currency’s real test is not in how tightly it can be controlled, but in how confidently it can be used.
Until the ZiG can freely circulate, buy goods, pay salaries, and store value without fear or restriction, no amount of official rhetoric will make it stable.
True confidence comes not from scarcity, but from trust—and that, unfortunately, remains in short supply.
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/