After monetary authorities officially and suddenly devalued it by a massive 42.605% two days ago, the beleaguered Zimbabwean currency, ZiG, has lost 25% of its value in the parallel market amid renewed volatility.
The black market exchange rate has shifted from US$1:ZiG30 to US$1:ZiG40; a 25% decline in a short 48 hours.
The new official fixed exchange rate after devaluation from US$1:ZiG13.8 is US$1:ZiG24.3.
Introduced on 5 April 2024 amid official hype that it is backed by gold and US$285 million foreign exchange reserves – without addressing underlying economic issues – ZiG is currently the worst performing currency in the world by a mile.
Zimbabwe also has the highest annual inflation rate in the world at 858%, according to independent experts.
The official inflation rate is 3.7%.Given its precipitous decline, ZiG may become Zimbabwe’s most short-lived currency or version of the Zimbabwean dollar.
The Zimbabwean dollar has undergone various changes since the country’s self-rule in 1980 – specifically, there has been up to six versions of the currency which keeps on dying and being revived amid a deep economic quagmire.
This is testimony to leadership, governance and policy failures, destructive mismanagement, corruption and incompetence which have ruined Zimbabwe.
