THE ZIMDOLLAR PROMISE WE HAVE HEARD BEFORE

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe says it now has a roadmap to bring back the local currency as the only currency by 2030. This follows comments by RBZ governor John Mushayavanhu, who said business has been asking for the return of the Zimbabwean dollar. According to the bank’s own five year strategic document, it has collected views from different stakeholders on how this return should happen. For many citizens, this announcement feels familiar and painful, because we have heard similar promises many times before.

The Zimbabwean dollar has a long and troubled history. Since independence in 1980, it has been printed, changed, destroyed, and renamed. It was wiped out by economic collapse, corruption, and poor leadership. In 2008, hyperinflation reached shocking levels and people lost their savings overnight. In 2009, the local currency collapsed and the country moved to a multi currency system. Since then, the United States dollar has dominated daily life, now used in more than eighty percent of transactions.

Today the local currency exists again under a new name, Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, introduced in April 2024. The RBZ says stakeholders want a clear and public plan to move to a mono currency by 2030. They want guarantees that foreign currency savings will not lose value and that contracts written in US dollars will not be destroyed. This demand alone shows how deep the fear is. People do not trust this system because past governments betrayed them.

The RBZ document admits that confidence in ZiG is still very weak. People struggle to find cash, and when they do, the notes are often poor quality. Mobile money platforms make it easier to use US dollars than ZiG, which pushes people away from the local currency. Stakeholders suggested that government must force demand by making more taxes payable only in ZiG and paying royalties to the state in local money. This again means ordinary people will carry the burden of experiments.

Business people also raised serious concerns about the cost of doing business. Bank charges are too high and punish anyone trying to use formal systems. Interest rates on ZiG loans are so high that borrowing becomes dangerous. Even government support tools like the Targeted Finance Facility are not working well, with very few people able to access them. This shows a system that speaks big words but fails in delivery.

There are also fights around foreign currency rules. Exporters want to keep more of their earnings because costs are charged in US dollars. Importers want lower retention so more dollars enter the market. These are not small issues. They show a broken economy fighting over crumbs instead of growth. The RBZ praises itself for consultation and recent stability, but stability without trust means nothing.

As an activist, I must say this clearly. You cannot rebuild a currency without rebuilding trust. You cannot force confidence through laws while corruption remains untouched. Under ZANU PF rule, every currency promise has ended in loss for ordinary people. Until there is accountability, transparency, and real reform, this roadmap is just another story. Zimbabweans deserve honesty, not another experiment on their lives.

The people are tired of being treated like numbers on a policy paper. They remember pensions that vanished, salaries that became worthless, and savings that died silently. Any future currency plan must start by admitting past crimes and failures. Without justice and change, the ZiG will follow the same path. Zimbabwe does not suffer from lack of plans. It suffers from leaders who do not learn. Until that changes, no currency reform will ever truly succeed for citizens