HARARE
–
In
a
legal
poser,
prominent
lawyer
Thabani
Mpofu
says
ZiG
has
ceased
to
be
legal
tender
arguing
the
time
span
prescribed
in
statutes
that
gave
life
to
the
country’s
gold
backed
currency
has
since
lapsed.
In
a
post
on
his
X
handle,
the
once
celebrity
lawyer
best
remembered
for
fronting
the
2018
Constitutional
Court
challenge
against
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
election
victory
on
behalf
of
opposition
politician
Nelson
Chamisa,
argued
the
ZiG
came
through
a
statutory
instrument
promulgated
in
terms
of
the
Presidential
Powers
Act
whose
effect
lapsed
at
the
end
of
6
months.
Said
the
lawyer,
“Unless
I
missed
the
law
when
it
was
promulgated,
the
ZIG
is
no
longer
currency.
“The
ZIG
was
operationalised
by
the
promulgation
of
the
Presidential
Powers
(Temporary
Measures)
(Amendment
of
Reserve
Bank
of
Zimbabwe
Act
and
Issue
of
Zimbabwe
Gold
Notes
and
Coins)
Regulations,
2024.
“By
law,
a
statutory
instrument
promulgated
in
terms
of
the
Presidential
Powers
Act
lapses
at
the
end
of
6
months
unless
prior
to
its
lapse,
the
instrument
is
validated
by
primary
legislation.
“In
this
case,
the
6
months
would
have
lapsed
on
the
4th
of
October
2024.
This
means
that
by
the
end
of
that
day,
the
ZIG
ceased
to
be
currency.”
Mpofu
added,
“It
is
not
possible
for
the
statutory
instrument
once
it
has
lapsed
to
be
validated
by
legislation.
Further,
the
statutory
instrument
having
lapsed
no
further
regulations
identical
to
the
lapsed
ones
can
be
promulgated
within
6
months
of
such
lapse.
“This
means
that
no
Statutory
Instrument
extending
the
life
of
ZIG
can
be
issued
in
terms
of
the
Presidential
Powers
Act.
“For
these
reasons,
the
ZIG
is
no
longer
legal
tender.
The
consequences
are
immense.
I
think
we
have
a
big
problem
on
our
hands.
(I
sincerely
hope
for
the
life
of
me
that
the
authorities
did
the
needful.
If
they
didn’t,
this
needs
to
be
fixed
by
the
only
lawful
way
available).”
ZimLive
could
not
readily
obtain
comment
from
the
Reserve
Bank
of
Zimbabwe
(RBZ)
on
Mpofu’s
comments.
Touted
as
the
ultimate
solution
to
the
country’s
protracted
currency
woes,
the
ZiG
was
introduced
by
the
central
bank
in
April
this
year.
However,
six
months
into
existence,
the
currency
has
seen
its
free-fall,
evoking
memories
of
its
predecessor
monies
that
have
all
followed
each
other
into
the
dust
bin.
But
Zanu
PF,
the
country’s
governing
party,
remains
stubborn,
declaring
in
resolutions
by
its
annual
people’s
conference
in
Bulawayo
weekend
it
would
“take
robust
measures
to
strengthen
the
purchasing
power
of
the
Zimbabwe
Gold
currency
(ZiG)
and
entrench
its
usage”
and
further
resolved
to
“promote
the
wider
circulation
of
the
ZiG
currency
and
its
availability
in
all
denominations”.