Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube has unveiled new strategies to boost the use of the country's gold-backed currency, including the order that government services must be paid in this currency.

Ncube unveiled the plans during his mid-term budget statement to lawmakers on Thursday in Mount Hampden, northeast of Harare.

He pledged additional support for the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, commending its role in alleviating “inflationary pressures in the economy.”

Consumer prices remained stable in June, following a 2.4% decrease in May, Bloomberg reports.

The government had previously faced criticism for favouring payments in US Dollars, a practice perceived as undermining the ZiG. This approach has also been partially blamed for the collapse of the country's former currency, the Zimbabwean Dollar.

The finance minister went on to add that he intends for certain taxes to be paid in ZiG, such as customs duties on selected finished products, presumptive taxes, and a portion of corporate taxes. 

He also said that the central bank’s financial intelligence unit, along with the police, will continue their crackdown on speculation in the parallel market to protect the ZiG.

“This exercise will continue until there is sanity and stability in the financial sector,” Ncube said, adding that over 500 traders and individuals have been fined for rejecting the ZiG, as well as for using and participating in illegal foreign-exchange rates and activities.

On April 5, the southern African nation replaced the Zimbabwean Dollar, which had depreciated by 80% against the US Dollar this year, triggering an inflation spiral. 

The ZiG, backed by cash and mineral reserves valued at $370 million, marks the country’s sixth attempt at establishing a stable local currency in the past 15 years.

The 2024 budget was adjusted from the old currency to ZiG and is now set at 87.9 billion ZiG ($6.4 billion).