Zimbabwe’s ZiG, a mirage on the far horizon 

Early in the morning, when the dew lies thick on the grass, there is a strong compulsion every day to soak in the things that are really real about Zimbabwe.

The heuglin’s robin singing before dawn, the feather of a spotted eagle owl snagged on a bush, the pink and orange sky just before sunrise, the drongos and thrushes swooping and scooping worms and insects out of the grass as the day begins.

Without this touch of sanity and reality every morning, the events of the days just become ever more like a mirage shimmering on the far horizon.

This February 2026, propaganda in Zimbabwe grows to bizarre levels and paints a picture of a country that just isn’t.

We were still digesting the news that Zimbabwe had a bumper harvest of maize in 2025 while milling companies said silos were empty, shops were running out of stock and we were actually importing maize.

It made no sense but soon afterwards came the news that we had also reaped a bumper harvest of wheat, the biggest since commercial production began in 1966, the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture said.

But then why are we importing wheat, people asked?

Authorities said it was because Zimbabwe produces soft wheat and needs to import 30% hard wheat, which has a high gluten content for blending in bread, biscuits and baked goods.

According to experts however, this explanation “collapses under mathematical scrutiny”, because we are importing so much wheat that it’s over seven times the volume needed for blending.

Zimbabwe’s NewsDay newspaper wrote: “The volumes [of imports] far exceed blending needs, pointing to waste, re-exports, or overstated domestic production.”

Read: Zimbabwe central bank outlines plans to adopt ZiG as sole currency

Then, last week came the strangest announcement of all when the minister of finance said that inflation had dropped to 4.1%, the lowest since 1997. That number apparently relates to “price stability in the local currency”.

No one understands how you can measure inflation of a currency that is largely invisible.

A currency called the ZiG, whose exchange rate to the US dollar is controlled by the Ministry of Finance. A currency that no one has in their pockets and isn’t available in the tills of most shops.

How can you even have a currency that you can’t use to buy an air fare, a passport, fuel or medicine? It makes no sense.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was using “severely manipulated” inflation statistics in order to dismiss workers’ salary demands. They said claims of “currency stability” were “cooked up”.

“Workers must earn salaries above the poverty datum line in a functional and stable currency,” it said.

ZCTU Secretary-General Mr [Tirivanhu] Marimo said: “We urge all workers and negotiators to disregard the Minister’s misguided comments which appear designed to pressure employers into paying salaries in the unstable ZiG.”

Read:
Zimbabwe plans to shift monetary policy focus
Zimbabwe inflation hits single digits for first time since 1997

In the end, regardless of the mountains of propaganda and the huge spin, it all comes down to numbers and what we see with our own eyes. This week in the supermarket, a 1kg box of oats cost US$4.35; in December the same size and brand of oats in the same supermarket was US$3.50.

Paying with a five US dollar note, the teller said: “Can I give you a ballpoint pen or a chocolate to make the price up to 5 dollars?”

“No,” I said, asking her to give me ZiGs as change. It would only be about 20 ZiGs.

But she replied: “Sorry we have no ZiGs at all.”

Read:
Helping hands, and hands that just keep taking in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe to continue mineral purchases in 2026, says Mushayavanhu

This is exactly how it has been since April 2024 when the ZiG was launched by our finance minister Ncube. There is none in our pockets, none in the tills, and none in general circulation.

Inflation or no inflation, the ZiG is all but a mirage shimmering on the far horizon.

© Cathy Buckle

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