ZANU PF WANTS US TO TRUST A BROKEN CURRENCY AGAIN
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe says it now has a roadmap to bring back the local currency as the only currency by 2030. They say business people asked for the return of the Zimbabwe dollar and pushed government to make it happen. This is written in their Five Year Strategic Document for 2026 to 2030. The governor, John Mushayavanhu, says they collected feedback from many stakeholders. On paper this sounds serious and planned. But as a political activist, I cannot ignore our painful history and the real life suffering caused by the same system.
Since independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe dollar has died many times. It was destroyed by bad policies, corruption, money printing, and lack of trust. In 2008, people lost their life savings through hyperinflation. Prices changed by the hour. Salaries became useless paper. In 2009 we moved to a multi currency system to survive. Even today, more than eighty percent of all transactions are done in United States dollars. That tells you one thing. People trust the dollar more than their own government.
Now the same currency has been reintroduced under a new name called Zimbabwe Gold or ZiG since April 2024. Changing the name does not change the problem. Trust is not built by documents and speeches. Trust comes from good leadership, honesty, and respect for the people. ZANU PF has failed in all these areas for decades.
The RBZ says stakeholders want a clear and public roadmap to move to a mono currency by 2030. They also want laws to protect foreign currency deposits so people do not lose value when the change happens. This alone shows fear and trauma still exist. People remember what happened before. They fear waking up to empty bank accounts again.
Stakeholders also say there are problems using the ZiG. Cash is hard to find and the notes are poor quality. Mobile money platforms make it easier to use US dollars than ZiG. Government is asked to collect more taxes in ZiG to force demand. But forcing people is not the same as convincing them. If the economy is weak and corruption is high, people will always run to safe money.
Bank charges are too high. Interest rates on ZiG loans are too expensive. Small businesses cannot borrow and grow. The targeted finance facility is not being used well. Access to real funding remains a dream for many young entrepreneurs and informal traders who keep the country alive.
There are also fights about foreign currency retention. Exporters say they lose too much when forced to surrender their earnings. Importers want more foreign currency on the market. This shows the economy is still unstable and confused. Everyone is trying to protect themselves from losses caused by bad policy.
The RBZ says people praised them for stability and better communication. But stability under a broken political system is temporary. As long as ZANU PF controls state institutions, money policy will always serve power, not citizens. The same people who destroyed the old Zimbabwe dollar are still in charge today.
As activists, we must speak truth. You cannot rebuild trust without justice, transparency, free elections, and accountable leadership. A roadmap without political reform is just another lie. Zimbabweans deserve a currency that protects their work, their savings, and their future. Until the system changes, any promise about 2030 is simply another delay tactic to keep people quiet while the elite continue to benefit. Real change will come only when citizens reclaim power, demand accountability, protect institutions, and refuse fear, corruption, propaganda, violence, and silence forever for generations.
