The unprecedented move was announced by the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, to boost confidence in the local currency.
The Associated PressZimbabwe Reserve Bank governor displays the country's new gold coin in Harare on Monday.
With strong memories of that disastrous inflation, many Zimbabweans today prefer to scramble on the illegal market for scarce U.S. dollars to keep at home as savings or for daily transactions. Faith in Zimbabwe's currency is already so low that many retailers don't accept it. "The expectation is that … there will also be moderation in terms of the depreciation of the local currency, which should have some kind of stabilizing effect in terms of pricing of goods," he said.Any individual or company can buy the coins from authorized outlets such as banks and can keep the coins at a bank or take them home, according to an announcement by the country's central bank. Foreigners can only buy the coins in foreign currency, said the central bank.
"For Zimbabwe we are in chronic hyperinflation so the expectation is that there will be a huge uptake of these gold coins," he said. However, most Zimbabweans struggle with daily survival and won't be able to buy them, he said. "Many people have no money for bread, let alone for savings," he said. "The expectation is that indirectly it will benefit the ordinary person through moderating the prices."Companies with excess cash can find the coins useful to store value and also as an alternative investment asset, although individuals and companies are likely to continue preferring the dollar because "it is convenient and highly liquid," he said.
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