John Mushayavanhu, the new governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, reports that the nation’s gold reserves now total $370 million, up 30% over the previous 100 days.

During my 100 days in office, we have added almost 30% to those reserves. We currently have reserves of roughly $370 million,” Mushayavanhu stated in a recent interview. The royalties we are receiving from mining corporations have allowed us to raise these. We’re moving forward steadily. We ought to be discussing no less than three tonnes of gold by the time the year [2024] ends.

Zimbabwe’s new “structured currency,” known as Zim Gold (ZiG), is backed by gold with the intention of stabilising the faltering national economy and combating high inflation. The Governor stated in April 2024, as reported by BitKE, that the reserves are valued at $285 million, which is “more than three times cover for the ZiG currency being issued.” The Zimbabwean dollar, which had lost 80% of its value in relation to the US dollar in 2024, was replaced by the ZiG.

To increase its reserves even more, the mineral-rich country of Southern Africa stopped issuing gold coins, which it had started issuing in 2022 as a store of value. Zimbabwe is one of several African countries—along with Uganda, Nigeria, and Madagascar—that are either increasing their gold reserves or are thinking about doing so in order to safeguard their currencies and combat inflation.

Because of previous currency collapses brought on by an increased money supply when the central bank issued debt to fund government expenditures, Mustayavanhu has pledged not to print any ZiG currency unless it is backed by reserves. Increasing reserves will allow the central bank to issue more ZiG currency, bringing the country closer to its goal of reducing its dependence on U.S. dollars.

The Governor stated that the ZiG will become the country’s sole currency once all the necessary conditions are met while President Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated earlier this month [July 2024] that this transition could occur by 2026.

“Why not, if we can accomplish it in two years? That doesn’t seem like a problem to me, Governor Mushayavanhu added.

The ratio of U.S. dollars used in the economy has already fallen to 80% from 85%, while local currency use has risen to 20% from 15% since the ZiG’s launch, according to Mushayavanhu.

“We are moving away from the dollar.”