HARARE,
Zimbabwe
— Out
with
the
Zimbabwe
dollar,
in
with
the
ZiG.
Zimbabwe
on
Tuesday
started
circulating
a
new
currency
to
replace
one
that
has
been
battered
by
depreciation
and
often
outright
rejection
by
the
people.
The
ZiG
was
introduced
electronically
in
early
April,
but
people
are
now
able
to
use
banknotes
and
coins.
It’s
the
southern
African
country’s
latest
attempt
to
halt
a
long-running
currency
crisis
underlining
its
persistent
economic
troubles.
The
government
had
previously
floated
various
ideas
to
replace
the
Zimbabwe
dollar,
including
introducing
gold
coins
to
stem
inflation
and
even
trying
out
a
digital
currency.
Since
it
was
launched
electronically
on
April
5,
the
ZiG
—
short
for
Zimbabwe
Gold
and
backed
by
the
country’s
gold
reserves
—
appears
to
be
heading
down
the
same
path
of
mistrust,
with
some
government
departments
refusing
to
accept
it.
The
ZiG
is
the
sixth
currency
Zimbabwe
has
used
since
the
spectacular
2009
collapse
of
the
Zimbabwe
dollar
amid
hyperinflation
of
5
billion
percent,
one
of
the
world’s
worst
currency
crashes
to
date.
That
set
off
a
chaotic
series
of
events:
first
the
U.S.
dollar
was
allowed
as
legal
tender,
then
banned,
then
unbanned.
A
new
“bond
note”
became
legal
tender,
the
Zimbabwe
dollar
was
reintroduced
before
the
gold
coins
and
digital
currency
were
tried.
However,
nothing
brought
any
currency
stability
and
the
U.S.
dollar
remains
the
most
trusted
for
ordinary
Zimbabweans.
As
the
shiny
new
ZiG
banknotes
hit
the
streets,
the
mistrust
was
evident.
Kudzanayi
Mande,
a
vegetable
trader
at
the
crowded
Mbare
market
in
the
capital
of
Harare,
said
she
would
rather
forgo
a
sale
than
accept
the
ZiG.
She
was
confused,
the
56-year-old
said.
“Already
there
is
an
official
exchange
rate
and
a
depreciated
black
market
rate,
so
I
will
wait
a
bit
to
see
what
its
real
value
is,”
she
said.
“The
U.S.
dollar
is
still
a
safer
bet.”
The
government
has
allowed
some
businesses,
such
as
gas
stations,
to
refuse
to
accept
the
ZiG
in
favor
of
U.S.
dollars.
Some
departments,
like
the
office
that
issues
and
renews
passports,
accept
only
U.S.
dollars.
At
the
same
time,
other
businesses
are
being
ordered
to
only
use
the
ZiG,
and
face
punishment
if
they
don’t.
“The
government
prints
the
money
so
it
should
be
the
first
to
accept
the
currency
and
everyone
else
will
follow,”
said
Gift
Mugano,
an
economics
professor
at
South
Africa’s
Durban
University
of
Technology.
“Otherwise
it
is
behaving
like
someone
who
feeds
on
takeaways
but
wants
others
to
eat
the food they
cook,”
Mugano
said.
“It
becomes
suspicious.”
Many
in
Zimbabwe
still
remember
when
a
100
trillion
Zimbabwe
dollar
banknote
was
printed
in
2009
at
the
height
of
the
hyperinflation
to
keep
up
with
spiraling
prices.
At
one
point,
a
loaf
of
bread
cost
more
than
500
million
Zimbabwe
dollars.
Prices
would
change
from
when
customers
walked
into
a
grocery
store
to
when
they
lined
up
to
pay
at
the
cash
register.
Restaurants
stopped
displaying
prices
on
menus
as
they
would
go
up
over
the
course
of
a
dinner.
People
lugged
around
bags
stuffed
with
banknotes.
Savings
and
pensions
became
worthless.
Through
the
ordeals,
the
greenback
remained
precious
—
and
highly
valued
on
the
black
market.
Across
Zimbabwe,
the
U.S.
dollar
is
still
widely
used,
from
paying
rent
and
school
fees
to
buying
groceries.
Many
take
their
local
currency
earnings
to
the
black
market
to
exchange
for
dollars
since
banks
don’t
give
out
U.S.
dollars.
Some
people
stash
their
U.S.
dollars
at
home.
The
government
of
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
has
taken
a
hard-line
approach
—
dozens
of
black
market
currency
dealers
were
arrested
and
have
been
in
pretrial
detention
for
weeks,
accused
of
trying
to
undermine
the
new
currency.
After
the
ZiG
was
introduced
electronically,
bank
accounts
of
some
businesses
were
frozen,
accused
by
the
government
of
rejecting
the
new
currency.
Authorities
say
they
have
faith
in
the
ZiG
because
it’s
backed
by
the
country’s
gold
reserves.
Mnangagwa
said
in
a
speech
on
Monday
it
was
a
matter
of
“our
national
identity
and
dignity”
to
trust
the
ZiG.
Though
some
hopeful
Zimbabweans
headed
for
the
banks
Tuesday
to
get
their
hands
on
the
new
currency,
many
remained
skeptical
after
two
decades
of
turmoil.
An
online
news
outlet
published
a
political
cartoon
showing
a
policeman
struggling
to
hold
up
a
collapsing
house
with
the
word
ZiG
on
it.
The
caption:
“World’s
first
police
backed
currency.”