RBZ says de-dollarisation on track

Zimbabwe's monetary authorities say the country is firmly on track to adopt a mono-currency system by 2030, with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) declaring that all key conditions for de-dollarisation are now taking shape.

RBZ deputy governor Innocent Matshe yesterday moved to calm public concerns over the transition, revealing that the central bank has cleared all outstanding foreign currency payment arrears from the auction system. He said the bank had settled US$60 million previously owed, marking what he described as significant progress in restoring monetary credibility.

Speaking at the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe's 2025 State of the Mining Industry breakfast seminar in Harare, Matshe said Zimbabwe's foreign currency reserves had grown impressively over the past year.

"Over the last 12 months, the rate at which we accumulated these reserves has been outstanding," he said. "Right now, we are standing at about a billion US dollars. Within the next three years, at minimum, we will have the import cover we need."

Matshe attributed this improvement largely to the mining sector, which continues to generate the bulk of the country's foreign currency earnings. He insisted that Zimbabwe has sufficient foreign currency to support the market and that concerns over forex shortages were misplaced.

"This country is generating a lot more foreign currency, and if you have funding and you need foreign currency, you will get it," he said. "In most countries, they use their own local currency, so anxieties around the mono-currency transition should not be there."

Matshe explained that the shift toward a mono-currency regime began two years ago and would be fully completed by 2030. However, he stressed that the success of the transition depends on broader economic stability, including sustained low inflation, adequate reserves and increased demand for the local currency. He said the government must also adjust the proportion of public obligations paid in Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) to strengthen usage of the currency.

He added that financial sector stability and modernised payment systems were crucial to the process. Although Zimbabwe's banking infrastructure is secure, he said many systems remain slow and manual, and the RBZ is working to digitalise them to support efficiency and reliability.

Matshe also disclosed that the RBZ had fully cleared its outstanding obligations to the foreign currency market. He said the bank had managed to settle all pending invoices, amounting to between US$10 million and US$60 million, after accumulating adequate resources over the past year.

"We have been doing this consistently. Foreign currency is not a problem, so all anxieties around forex availability should not be there. There is absolutely no reason for miners to worry," he said.

The government has intensified efforts to restore confidence in the local currency and reduce reliance on the United States dollar, which has dominated transactions since the economy imploded in 2008. While authorities insist that economic fundamentals are now improving, some analysts and citizens remain wary of a return to a single-currency system.

Officials, however, maintain that with disciplined fiscal and monetary management, strengthened currency demand and stable reserves, Zimbabwe will be positioned to complete the transition to a fully domestic currency by 2030.