Zimbabwe’s central bank will begin selling gold coins as a store of value this month in order to combat rampant inflation, which has significantly undermined the local currency.

The central bank governor, John Mangudya, said in a statement on Monday that the coins would be available for purchase on July 25 in local currency, US dollars, and other foreign currencies at a price determined by the current international gold price and production costs.

According to the central bank, the Mosi-oa-tunya coin, named after Victoria Falls, can be changed into cash and traded locally and abroad.

According to the company, the gold coin will contain one troy ounce of gold and will be sold through Fidelity Gold Refinery, Aurex, and local banks.

Investors around the world use gold coins to protect themselves from inflation and war.

Zimbabwe increased its policy rate from 80 per cent to 200 per cent last week and announced intentions to declare the US currency legal tender for the next five years to promote confidence.

Soaring inflation in the southern African country has piled pressure on a people already suffering from scarcity and rekindled memories of the economic upheaval that characterised Robert Mugabe’s almost four-decade tenure.

Annual inflation, which reached about 192 per cent in June, has hampered President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts to revitalise the economy.

Zimbabwe abandoned its depreciated currency in 2009, preferring to utilise foreign currencies, namely the US dollar.

The native currency was reinstated by the government in 2019, but it quickly lost value.

(Adapted from TheGuardian.com)

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