The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has done it again. In a country scarred by currency chaos, it has now introduced yet another financial experiment: a so-called “structured currency” named Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG. But instead of hope, this new scheme has stirred confusion, suspicion, and anger among the people.

What is a structured currency? No one really knows. Even economists are puzzled. It’s not a term used in standard financial books or recognized by global financial institutions. The RBZ says ZiG is backed by foreign currencies and gold — US$100 million in cash and 2,522 kilograms of gold worth about US$185 million. This is supposed to anchor the ZW$2.6 trillion in local reserve money.

But here’s the problem: this support is clearly not enough. In fact, it’s laughably small. Successful economies use reserves in the billions to protect their currencies. Zimbabwe’s reserves don’t even reach a third of that. So how can such a weak base support a national currency, especially in an economy plagued by inflation, debt, and trust issues?

Let’s be honest — this looks like another smoke-and-mirrors trick from the RBZ. The public has seen this movie before, and it ended in disaster. Remember the bond note? It was also claimed to be backed by real value — a $200 million Afreximbank loan. That promise didn’t last, and neither did the bond note. It collapsed, dragging the economy with it.

Now with ZiG, the RBZ is making the same kind of promises. But people are not buying it. The streets are full of uncertainty. Prices are not stable. Confidence is gone. And businesses are still relying on the US dollar, not ZiG. If ZiG was solid, the market would show it. Instead, it is falling apart right at the start.

The RBZ says it won’t print money to fund the government, but how will government expenses be covered? Who will fund the roads, hospitals, or civil service salaries? Without printing money or borrowing recklessly, this government has no answer. It’s another case of policy without planning — a fragile stunt to cover deeper failures.

The truth is that currency is not just about gold or US dollars in the vault. It’s about confidence. Confidence in leadership. Confidence in policies. Confidence that your savings won’t be wiped out tomorrow. Zimbabwe has none of that right now.

People still remember the horror of 2008 — a time when pensions disappeared, prices doubled overnight, and zeros filled the banknotes. That trauma hasn’t faded. The memory of that disaster is exactly why people won’t trust ZiG or any other currency issued without solid reform.

For ZiG to succeed, the government must do more than change the name on the banknotes. It must fix the fundamentals: stabilize inflation, stop corruption, cut wasteful spending, end abuse of public funds, and bring back the rule of law. It must stop using the central bank like a toolbox for political survival.

Without those reforms, ZiG is doomed to join the graveyard of failed Zimbabwean currencies. And worse, it risks dragging the people deeper into poverty and economic instability. Structured currency or not, the problem is not technical — it is political. No gold can back a currency if there’s no integrity behind it.

Zimbabwe needs more than clever ideas. It needs real change. Until that comes, ZiG will be just another failed promise, and the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans will only continue.