The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has unveiled its five-year strategic plan focused on entrenching currency stability, strengthening monetary policy credibility and further reforming the apex bank.
This comes as the monetary authorities continue to work on measures to prepare the groundwork for the planned reintroduction of a domestic mono-currency regime.
Since introducing the ZiG currency in April 2024, the central bank achieved key milestones by the end of 2025, including exchange rate and price stability, as well as an increase in official gold and foreign currency reserves.
Under the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, the central bank will continue to align its priorities with the Government’s broader development agenda of transforming the country into an upper-middle-income economy.
The targets will be achieved through three Strategic Key Focus Areas (SKFAs), supported by three Enabling Key Focus Areas (EKFAs).
The policy framework is designed to rebuild confidence in the local currency, deepen financial markets and modernise the central bank’s operations.
At the centre of SKFA 1 is the consolidation of price, currency and exchange rate stability, which the RBZ describes as its primary mandate.
The bank aims to secure the long-term viability of the ZiG through improved currency management, including enhancing banknote quality and gradually raising the share of local currency in circulation to at least five percent of total deposits.
In terms of the exchange rate, the RBZ plans to deepen market activity under the willing-buyer, willing-seller system while introducing a new electronic foreign exchange trading platform to improve transparency and price discovery.
The bank will also intensify efforts to accumulate gold and foreign currency reserves, targeting between three and six months’ import cover by 2030, a level widely viewed as critical for currency credibility and external shock absorption.
Capital flow management measures will be eased gradually as economic stability improves, with the authorities indicating an intention to align controls with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards to support trade flows and attract longer-term investment.
Under SKFA 2, enhancing monetary stability, research, policy and data integrity, the bank focuses on modernising the design and transmission of monetary policy.
The RBZ plans to move away from direct controls towards market-based liquidity management tools, while strengthening forecasting and policy coordination with fiscal authorities.
This includes a planned shift from monetary targeting to an inflation-targeting framework, supported by a new Forecasting and Policy Analysis System (FPAS). Improved communication is also prioritised, reflecting the bank’s assessment that anchoring inflation expectations is central to price stability.
On SKFA 3, maintaining safety, soundness and integrity of the financial sector, the RBZ will continue adopting international supervisory standards such as Basel III, strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks, and expand financial inclusion through the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
Climate risk management and green finance initiatives will be incorporated into supervisory practices.
EKFA 1 focuses on technology and digitalisation, including automating internal processes, establishing a unified data warehouse, strengthening cybersecurity and exploring a central bank digital currency. The bank’s EKFA 2 addresses human capital and trust, with plans for an RBZ Academy, leadership development programmes, enhanced stakeholder engagement and gender balance targets by 2030.
EKFA 3 centres on institutional sustainability, including completion of the RBZ balance sheet clean-up, tighter cost controls and stronger risk governance.
Against this backdrop, RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu said the strategy is intended to lock in recent macroeconomic gains while creating room for more effective policy action.
“The Reserve Bank will work on the timely achievement of the conditions precedent for a smooth transition to mono-currency,” said Dr Mushayavanhu.
He said the transition would be market-driven and dependent on sustained low inflation, adequate reserve buffers, safe and sound financial and payment systems, an efficient exchange rate system and close alignment between fiscal and monetary policy.
Dr Mushayavanhu said the clean-up of the RBZ balance sheet, following the transfer of quasi-fiscal activities to the Treasury, had already strengthened policy credibility.
“The restructuring of the RBZ balance sheet is essential in ensuring financial sustainability and expanding policy space for effective market interventions and monetary policy transmission,” he said.
He reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to disinflation, noting that inflation fell below 20 percent in 2025 and is projected to reach single digits in 2026.
“We will continue to pursue a deliberate disinflation strategy, with data-dependent and evidence-based policy adjustments, to avoid premature reversals and the de-anchoring of inflation expectations,” he said.
While the earlier “Back-to-Basics” phase required a tight stance, the Governor said the next phase would focus on prudence and discipline rather than rigidity.
He added that reserve accumulation and exchange rate stability would remain central to policy, supported by restrictive monetary conditions and fiscal discipline to cushion the economy against renewed inflation pressures.-herald
