The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has unveiled and switched to a new gold-backed currency known as the ZiG which will go into circulation on Monday.
Zimbabwe has effectively ditched the Zimbabwe Dollar which had come under sustained pressure in recent weeks, making it one of the world’s worst-performing currencies.
Since January, the Zimbabwe dollar lost over 70% of its value on the official market and was plunging even further on the thriving but illegal black market.
Authorities hope the new measure will halt a currency crisis underlining the country’s yearslong economic troubles.
“We are doing what we are doing to ensure that our local currency does not die. We were already in a situation where almost 85% of the transactions are being conducted in U.S dollars,” Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Gov. John Mushayavanhu said on Friday.
