By 
By Ross Moyo
Zimbabwe Vice-president, Retired General, Dr. Constantino Ghuvheya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga has said the government will continue to protect the new Zimbabwe Gold currency.
Addressing mourners at the burial of retired brigadier Shadreck Ndabambi at the National Heroes Acre on Wednesday, the retired General said,
“Our government introduced the Zimbabwe Gold as our new sovereign currency. It is our responsibility as a nation to embrace and protect the new currency as a bedrock and anchor of our economic development.
“Let me assure you that the government is working to promote the wider use of our local currency and is putting in place measures that will eliminate gaps that are creating arbitrage opportunities in the exchange market,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s official rate on yesterday was pegged at US$1 to ZWG13.8, while on the black market it traded at around twice as much to the US dollar.
Shop owners and retailers are forced to take payments in Zig ZWG while some of their suppliers demand US dollars or South African rand.
This is even worse for importers, without adequate foreign currency provision from the government which has seen those continuing to take the ZWG having resorted to what is called “forward pricing” whereby they sell their products at black market rates, giving them leverage to buy forex on the black market at a premium.
This has resultantly seen Zimbabwe’s gold-backed currency crumbling too, just four months after the Zig was introduced in April by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu.
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