Zimbabwe has announced that it has concluded plans to introduce gold coins later this month as it continues to intensify efforts geared at curbing the soaring inflation amid a slump in its currency.
The nation’s central bank also provided details on its plans to declare the US dollar to be legal tender for the following five years.
After the annual rate of inflation surpassed 190 percent this month, the central bank’s primary interest rate was more than doubled to 200 percent.
This year, the value of the Zimbabwean dollar relative to major currencies has plummeted.
The one troy ounce, 22-carat gold coins will be available starting on July 25, according to a statement from John P. Mangudya, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
A troy ounce is a unit of measure used for weighing precious metal – such as gold, silver and platinum – that dates back to the Middle Ages. One troy ounce is equal to 31.10g.
‘The gold coins will be available for sale to the public in both local currency and US dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost production,’ Mr Mangudya added.
The statement also said each coin will be identified with a serial number and can be easily converted to cash, locally and internationally.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that it will be called the ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya Gold Coin’, which means ‘The Smoke Which Thunders,’ a reference to Victoria Falls that is located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The announcement is part of the Zimbabwe government’s measures to tackle the country’s currency crisis.
Last month, the annual rate of inflation hit 191.6%, while the Zimbabwean dollar has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the US dollar since the start of 2022.
From 1 July the Reserve Bank ofย Zimbabwe’s main interest rate was raised from 80% to 200% a year, in a bid to deal with the rising cost of living.
Soaring inflation has piled pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a country that still remembers the economic chaos under Robert Mugabe’s almost four decades of rule.
Hyperinflation forced the country to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009, and it opted instead to use foreign currencies, mainly the US dollar.
