Gono’s Zim Dollar Push: A Journey Into the Past

“Given the country’s proven resources of gold, platinum and diamonds, among several other minerals, a fully backed currency which can freely convert back to the real underlying assets at the instance of the currency holders wishes will be having the desirable character of being a legitimate store of value. In other words, the currency will have a stable value of time given the direct link to the volume of tangible assets from the real sector.”
But economists say Gono’s plan to bring back the unit without boosting output in all sectors of the economy will end in ignominy for the discredited central bank chief yet again after failing to institute economic reforms and slowing inflation.
They say Gono will only do more harm to the economy with his latest experiment.
Harare economist John Robertson said: “If we try to bring the Zim dollar back, it will lose value in a week. You need credibility in your currency which is not there.”
Another economist Daniel Ndlela says: “People lost confidence in the financial system and if you talk of the Zimbabwean dollar what comes to people’s minds is whether they are going to sleep in queues again.”
Ndlela expressed reservations on the plan to support the currency on the amount of resources available. He said this was not a wise one given the country’s depleted mineral reserves.