Just last week, the government of Zimbabwe introduced gold as currency. Gold coins were made available for sale to the public in both local currency and other foreign currencies at market price. As the Zimbabwean people are in the midst of hyperinflation, the news was an unexpected 180°. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been destroying the currency since the dawn of its existence. But, it is much, much harder to destroy the value of a gold coin in the hands of a civilian than that of a paper note.
Zimbabwe Sells Out of Gold Coins
Well, it turns out, the gold coins were a hit. Whodathunk, huh?! The central bank created 1,500 of these things and they quickly sold out.1 But, hold on. Is this as good of news as I originally suspected? Not so fast.
The gold coins are dubbed “Mosi-Oa-Tunya,” which translates to “The smoke that thunders.” It is apparently what the indigenous people of Victoria Falls call the falls. My good Rhodesian buddy warned me that this seemingly positive news for the Zimbabwean people may in fact be a smoke show. He is likely right. How could I not immediately see it? Judging by history, there is almost always an ulterior motive behind the veil of those in power, and especially when we are talking about the ZANU-PF. How do President Mnangagwa and his cronies benefit here? Have they ever not been corrupt? Are they dumping (or printing more of) their Zimbabwean dollars and exchanging them for gold coins before the people even get a chance to do the same? Most likely. This, of course, makes the transaction look legitimate on paper, but in reality, it is a continued fleecing of the people.
The central bank is apparently preparing to sell another 2,000 coins soon. Will we ever know the truth of who ended up with the majority of those coins already sold? Most likely not.
President Mnangagwa, nicknamed “The Crocodile,” is the type of man who will do anything to remain in power, no matter how violent, cruel, or corrupt. He was a longtime ally of the tyrant, Robert Mugabe, only to then stab his own tyrant buddy in the back by successfully staging a coup — as loyal as a crocodile, you see.
Mugabe and Mnangagwa have used mass atrocities against civilians to repress opposition and consolidate power since Zimbabwe’s “independence.” In 1983, Mugabe — with Mnangagwa leading the CIO (Central Intelligence Organization) — initiated Operation Gukurahundi to exterminate the opposition. “Gukurahundi” loosely translates in Shona as “the rain that washes away the chaff.” For 4 long years, security forces were unleashed upon those suspected of supporting the ZANU opposition, much of which came from the minority Ndebele people. Thousands of Ndebele were tortured, detained, raped, executed, you name it. An estimated 20,000 people were killed. It was an ethnic cleansing.2
We must keep this context in our minds when we see imagined signs of potential liberty for the Zimbabwean people.