{"id":15613,"date":"2025-11-19T08:25:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T06:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/zimbabwe-needs-5-6-billion-in-reserves-to-shift-to-single-currency-regime-central-bank\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:27:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:27:47","slug":"zimbabwe-needs-5-6-billion-in-reserves-to-shift-to-single-currency-regime-central-bank","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/zimbabwe-needs-5-6-billion-in-reserves-to-shift-to-single-currency-regime-central-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe needs $5\u20136 billion in reserves to shift to single-currency regime: Central Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Speaking in an interview with Channel Africa on Tuesday, Persistence Gwanyanya explained that although current reserves stand at $980 million, this remains far below what is required for the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) to operate as the country\u2019s sole currency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">They say the present reserve level provides more than four times cover for reserve money, far above the minimum one-to-one backing required, but still insufficient for a mono-currency environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Officials stressed that <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zimbabwe\u2019s domestic currency must be fully backed by foreign currency reserves and precious minerals<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to ensure stability and convertibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cWe need reserves that provide between three and six months of import cover for a mono-currency regime. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To achieve that, Zimbabwe would require between 5 and 6 billion <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">dollars<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> At the pace we are accumulating reserves, we are confident we can reach those levels,\u201d Gwanyanya said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Monetary authorities emphasised that while reserves are essential, macroeconomic stability is the decisive factor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cWe need durable stability, price stability, and exchange-rate <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">stability<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0to restore trust in the currency. Stability for beyond one year is crucial for the market to accept a mono-currency arrangement, \u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Reserve Bank attributes the increase to several factors, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A conscious government decision to build reserves<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Growth in foreign-currency income<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stronger gold and precious mineral reserves<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Higher global gold prices<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Rising export earnings<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Gold reserves currently stand at around 3.5 tonnes, and the authorities say the country has benefited from the global gold price rally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zimbabwe also continues to accumulate reserves through the foreign-currency surrender system, in which exporters convert part of their earnings into local currency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cAt the rate we are accumulating these reserves, it is quite encouraging. Our exports are increasing, and this is what funds reserve accumulation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, they cautioned that beyond building reserves, confidence in the ZiG and broader economic performance will determine the success of the 2030 single-currency target.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cOur economy has been performing to expectations, and in some cases exceeding expectations, despite external shocks. But stability remains the foundation for trust in the currency,\u201d Gwanyanya said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15614,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-15613","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Zimbabwe will need up to $6 billion in reserves to fully transition to a mono-currency system by 2030, according to the country\u2019s monetary authorities.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Zimbabwe will need up to $6 billion in reserves to fully transition to a mono-currency system by 2030, according to the country\u2019s monetary authorities.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19776,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15613\/revisions\/19776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=15613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}