Cathy Buckle: Zimbabwe's Zig, a mirage on the far horizon

Key topics:Daily life in Zimbabwe versus government propaganda and claimsThe elusive ZiG currency and its limited circulationInflation, food prices, and economic contradictions in 2026.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Cathy Buckle.Dear Family and Friends,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 Drongoes 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 the 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 7 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.”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,” they said. ZCTU Secretary General Mr 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.” 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 1 kg 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 USS dollar note, the teller said: “Can I give you a ball-point pen or a chocolate to make the price up to 5 dollars?” “No I said,” asking her to give me Zig’s as change, it would only be about 20 Zig’s but she said: “Sorry we have no Zig’s at all.” This is exactly how it has been since April 2024 when the ZiG was launched by Finance Minister Mthuli 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.There is no charge for this Letter From Zimbabwe but if you would like to donate please visit my website.Until next time, thanks for reading this Letter From Zimbabwe now in its 26th year, and my books about life in Zimbabwe, a country in waiting.Ndini shamwari yenyu (I am your friend).Love Cathy 5th February 2026. Copyright © Cathy Buckle https://cathybuckle.co.zw/ .My new Photobook “Zimbabwe’s Timeless Beauty The 2025 Collection” and my Beautiful Zimbabwe 2026 Calendar are now available. All my books, Photobooks and calendars can both be ordered from my website or from LULU. Click here to order www.lulu.com/spotlight/cathybuckle2018

Cathy Buckle: Zimbabwe's Zig, a mirage on the far horizon

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