A currency symbol or currency sign is a graphic symbol used to denote a currency unit. Usually it is defined by a monetary authority, such as the national central bank for the currency concerned.
116-494: The Zimbabwean dollar ( sign : $ , or Z$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies ) was the name of four official currencies of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 12 April 2009. During this time, it was subject to periods of extreme inflation , followed by a period of hyperinflation . The Zimbabwean dollar was introduced in 1980 to directly replace the Rhodesian dollar (which had been introduced in 1970) at par (1:1), at
232-569: A pound sterling (Z$ 1,000,000 = £1). In October 2005, the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at the time, Dr. Gideon Gono , announced that Zimbabwe would have a new currency the following year, and new banknotes and coins would be produced. However, in June 2006, it was decreed that, for a new currency to be viable, Zimbabwe had to first achieve macro-economic stability. Instead, in August 2006,
348-463: A " data overflow error " and stopped customers' attempts to withdraw money with so many zeros. In June 2008, U.S. officials announced they would not take any action against G&D. It was reported that on 1 July 2008 the company's management board decided to cease delivering banknote paper to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with immediate effect. The decision was in response to an "official request" from
464-399: A constitutional amendment, signed into law on 12 September 2005, that nationalised farmland acquired through the "Fast Track" process and deprived original landowners of the right to challenge in court the government's decision to expropriate their land. The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe ruled against legal challenges to this amendment. The case ( Campbell v Republic of Zimbabwe ) was heard by
580-425: A direct consequence of the resettlement programme were murdered by Zimbabwean paramilitaries in mid-2000. More commonly, violence was directed against farmworkers, who were often assaulted and killed by the war veterans and their supporters. Violent confrontations between the farmers and the war veterans occurred and resulted in exchanges of gunfire, as well as a state of armed siege on the affected farms. Officially
696-563: A later report on 26 November 2014 clarified that over $ 40 million worth of these coins were expected to be delivered within the next week from Pretoria . On 18 December 2014, the 1, 5, 10, and 25 US cent denominations were released into circulation. The 50 US cent denomination followed in March 2015. A 1 dollar bond coin was released in November 2016. The banknotes of the Zimbabwean dollar were issued by
812-501: A million per US$ in 2006, when the currency was revalued. This table shows in more detail the historical value of one US dollar in Zimbabwean dollars : In the first redenomination of 1 August 2006, 1000 ZWD were exchanged for 1 second dollar (ZWN). The second dollar started off with an official rate of 250 and a parallel rate of 550 to the US$ . By July 2008 the exchange rate with US$ had reached (parallel rate) 500 billion to 1 US$ , leading to
928-500: A move that observers said was meant to draw attention away from "runaway inflation which has come to symbolise the country's unprecedented economic meltdown". In 2008, the inflation rate accelerated dramatically, from a rate in January of over 100,000% to an estimated rate of over 1,000,000% by May, and nearly 250,000,000% in July. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe responded to the dwindling value of
1044-460: A new (third) dollar would be released. However, with inflation still exceeding 1000%, the banknotes were kept in storage. During the same month, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe declared inflation illegal, outlawing any raise in prices on certain commodities between 1 March and 30 June 2007. Officials arrested executives of some Zimbabwean companies for increasing prices on their products, and economists reported that "chaos had started to reign and people in
1160-403: A premium rate of about $ 4 million , while the cash transaction rate varied around $ 2 million . ‡ Exchange rate was 20,000,000 for large amounts. The third dollar rates above are OMIR . The cash rate differs significantly to the above rates. The table below is the cash rate of the third dollar history: The first dollar (ZWD) devalued from 0.6788 R$ to US$ 1 in 1978 to roughly half
1276-495: A rate of US$ 1 to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars to accounts with balances above 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. This move was meant to stabilise the economy and establish a credible nominal anchor under low inflation conditions. The exercise brought closure to the outstanding issue on the Zimbabwe dollar, further confirming the government's position that the local unit will not return anytime soon. The Government has maintained that
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#17329011594381392-1275: A second redenomination. More detailed data can be found in the table below: 700 to 800 (8 September – high volume transactions); 850 (14 September); 1,200 to 1,300 (28 Sep) or 1,500 (29 September – high volume transactions) 1,500 (12 October); 1,700 (6 November); 2,000 (19 November); 2,400 (29 November); 3,000 (25 December) 3,200 (11th); 3,500 (18th); 4,000 (20th); 4,200 (23rd); 6,000 (26th) 4,800 (2nd); 5,000 (12th); 6,600 (23rd); 7,000 (27th) 7,500 (1st) 8,000 (2nd); 10,000 (8th); 11,000 (11th); 12,000 – 17,500 (16th); 16,000 (19th); 20,000 (21st); 24,000 (22nd); 25,000 (27th); 26,000 (29th) 30,000 (1st); 15,000 (7th); 20,000 (8th); 25,000 (11th); 35,000 (15th) 28,000 (10th); 32,000 (18th); 38,000 (20th); 40,000 (22nd); 45,000 (24th); 50,000 (29th) 55,000 (3rd); 60,000 (12th); 75–100,000 (13th); 120,000 (16th); 205,000 (20th); 300,000 (22nd); 400,000 (23rd) 270,000 (5th); 300,000 (14th) 200,000 (21st) 250,000 (7th); 280,000 (14th); 340,000 (18th); 500,000 (26th); 600,000 (29th) 750,000 (17th); 1,000,000 (19th) 1,200,000 (1st); 4,500,000 (14th) (not confirmed); 1,400,000 (24th); 1,500,000 (30th) Currency sign A symbol may be positioned in various ways, according to national convention: before, between or after
1508-478: A serious negative effect on the Zimbabwean economy and is argued to have heavily contributed to its collapse in the 2000s. There has been a drop in total farm output which has led to instances of starvation and famine. Increasing poverty levels combined with the increased informality of farming operations amongst farmers who received redistributed land has led to an increase in the use of child labour especially in
1624-474: A similar value to the US dollar. In the 20th century the dollar functioned as a normal currency, but in the early 21st century hyperinflation in Zimbabwe reduced the Zimbabwean dollar to one of the lowest valued currency units in the world. It was redenominated three times (in 2006, 2008 and 2009), with denominations up to a $ 100 trillion banknote issued. The final redenomination produced the "fourth dollar" (ZWL), which
1740-415: Is a reality we have to live with. Since October 2008 our national currency has become moribund". In late January 2009, acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced that all Zimbabweans would be allowed to conduct business with any currency, as a response to the hyperinflation crisis. On 12 April 2009, media outlets reported that economic planning minister Elton Mangoma had announced the suspension of
1856-881: Is based on ϵ , an archaic form of the Greek epsilon , to represent Europe; the Indian rupee sign ₹ is a blend of the Latin letter ' R ' with the Devanagari letter र ( ra ); and the Russian Ruble sign ₽ is based on Р (the Cyrillic capital letter 'er' ). There are other considerations, such as how the symbol is rendered on computers and typesetting. For a new symbol to be used, its glyphs needs to be added to computer fonts and keyboard mappings already in widespread use, and keyboard layouts need to be altered or shortcuts added to type
1972-482: The ZiG . The Zimbabwean dollar's predecessor, the Rhodesian dollar , was essentially equal to half of the value of the pound sterling at the time of its adoption (during the decimalisation of 1970). A similar practice was used in other Commonwealth countries such as South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The selection of the name was motivated by the fact that the reduced value of the new unit correlated more closely to
2088-708: The Lancaster House Talks to end the Rhodesian Bush War. ZANU leader Robert Mugabe and ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo insisted on the redistribution of land—by compulsory seizure, without compensation—as a precondition to a negotiated peace settlement. This was reflective of prevailing attitudes in their guerrilla armies, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) respectively, and rural support bases, which had high expectations of
2204-546: The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2009. Up to 2003, regular banknotes were issued, but as hyperinflation developed from 2003, the Reserve Bank issued short-lived emergency traveller's cheques . This table shows a condensed history of the foreign exchange rate of the Zimbabwean Dollars to one US Dollar: † Due to the December 2007 banknote shortage, funds transferred via Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTS) bore
2320-520: The Rhodesian Bush War , resulted in a major currency crash on 14 November 1997. The currency's official and parallel rates continued to plummet in the context in falling incomes from exports, the chaotic redistribution of land to inexperienced farmers, and Zimbabwe's involvement in the Second Congo War . By July 2006, the parallel market value of the Zimbabwean dollar fell to one millionth of
2436-670: The SADC Tribunal in 2008, which held that the Zimbabwean government violated the SADC treaty by denying access to the courts and engaging in racial discrimination against white farmers whose lands had been confiscated and that compensation should be paid. However, the High Court refused to register the Tribunal's judgment and ultimately, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Tribunal in August 2009. In January 2006, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said Zimbabwe
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#17329011594382552-466: The Spanish dollar , whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from the letter L (written until the seventeenth century in blackletter type as L {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {L}}} ) standing for libra , a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism meaningful to their adopter. For example, the euro sign €
2668-593: The United States dollar were used. On 24 June 2019, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe abolished the multiple-currency system and replaced it with a new Zimbabwe dollar (the RTGS Dollar ), which was the only official currency in the country between June 2019 and March 2020, after which multiple foreign currencies were allowed again. On 5 April 2024, the dollar was removed and replaced with what the authorities called "a structured currency backed by gold", named Zimbabwean gold or
2784-645: The 19th century, primarily from the Cape Colony (modern-day South Africa ), less than a century after the Ndebele invasions. This reflected a larger trend of permanent European settlement in the milder, drier regions of Southern Africa as opposed to the tropical and sub-tropical climates further north. In 1889 Cecil Rhodes and the British South Africa Company (BSAC) introduced the earliest white settlers to Zimbabwe as prospectors, seeking concessions from
2900-506: The BSAC had promised its investors, and the military costs of the expedition had caused a deficit. An interim solution was the granting of land to the settlers in the hopes that they would develop productive farms and generate enough income to justify the colony's continued administrative costs. The region was demarcated as Southern Rhodesia after 1898. Between 1890 and 1896, the BSAC granted an area encompassing 16 million acres—about one sixth
3016-457: The British government to give similar assurances". The Lancaster House Agreement stipulated that farms could only be taken from whites on a "willing buyer, willing seller" principle for at least ten years. White farmers were not to be placed under any pressure or intimidation, and if they decided to sell their farms they were allowed to determine their own asking prices. Exceptions could be made if
3132-458: The British government would finance half the cost. In the late 1990s, Prime Minister Tony Blair terminated this arrangement when funds available from Margaret Thatcher 's administration were exhausted, repudiating all commitments to land reform. Zimbabwe responded by embarking on a "fast track" redistribution campaign, forcibly confiscating white farms without compensation. The first white colonists to settle in modern-day Zimbabwe arrived during
3248-596: The German government and calls for international sanctions by the European Union and the United Nations. The use of foreign currencies was legalised in January 2009, causing general consumer prices to stabilise again after years of hyperinflation and price speculation. The move led to a sharp drop in the usage of the Zimbabwean dollar, as hyperinflation rendered even the highest denominations worthless. The Zimbabwean dollar
3364-461: The Ndebele for mineral rights. Collectively known as the Pioneer Column , the settlers established the city of Salisbury, now Harare . Rhodes hoped to discover gold and establish a mining colony, but the original intention had to be modified as neither the costs nor the returns on the overhead capital matched the original projections. Local gold deposits failed to yield the massive returns which
3480-466: The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said it would import special coins, known as Zimbabwean bond coins , to ease a shortage of change in the economy. Like the original 1980 coins, these special coins would be denominated in 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, but would have values at par with US cents. There would also be South African rand coins of 10, 20, 50 cents, 1, 2, 5 rands. The RBZ's statement did not specify when or where these coins would be imported from, but
3596-445: The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe could not deal with a currency change, so the currency code remained 'ZWD'. The revaluation campaign, which Gideon Gono named "Operation Sunrise", was completed on 21 August 2006. It was estimated that some ten trillion old Zimbabwe dollars (22% of the money supply ) were not redeemed during this period. The following year, on 2 February 2007, the RBZ revealed that
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3712-403: The Rhodesian Bush War. Calls for accelerated land reform were also echoed by an affluent urban class of black Zimbabweans who were interested in making inroads into commercial farming, with public assistance. "Under those [ sic ] Bippas [Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements], which you allegedly say were violated, the only shortcoming was that we failed to raise
3828-462: The Rhodesian government by force of arms. The escalation of the Rhodesian Bush War in the 1970s led to a significant amount of rural displacement and interrupted agricultural activity. The disruption of veterinary services resulted in massive livestock losses, and the cultivation of cash crops was hampered by guerrilla raids. The murder of about three hundred white farmers during the war, as well as
3944-581: The TTLs compelled large numbers of Shona and Ndebele alike to abandon their rural livelihoods and seek wage employment in the cities or on white commercial farms. Those who remained on tracts in the TTLs found themselves having to cope with topsoil depletion due to overuse; large amounts of topsoil were stripped of their vegetation cover and rendered unproductive as a consequence. To control the rate of erosion, colonial authorities introduced voluntary destocking initiatives for livestock. When these met with little success,
4060-700: The United Kingdom would be prepared to assist land resettlement with technical assistance and financial aid. The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations , Sir Shridath Ramphal , also received assurances from the American ambassador in London, Kingman Brewster , that the United States would likewise contribute capital for "a substantial amount for a process of land redistribution and they would undertake to encourage
4176-509: The Zimbabwe government published its "policy framework" on the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme Phase II (LRRP II), which envisaged the compulsory purchase over five years of 50,000 square kilometres from the 112,000 square kilometres owned by white commercial farmers, public corporations, churches, non-governmental organisations and multinational companies. Broken down, the 50,000 square kilometres meant that every year between 1998 and 2003,
4292-563: The Zimbabwean Land Acquisition Act of 1992, which empowered the government to acquire any land as it saw fit, although only after payment of financial compensation. While powerless to challenge the acquisition itself, landowners were permitted some lateral to negotiate their compensation amounts with the state. The British government continued to help fund the resettlement programme, with aid specifically earmarked for land reform reaching £91 million by 1996. Another £100 million
4408-496: The Zimbabwean courts as well as the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture—to delegate on property rights. That year all farms marked for redistribution were no longer chosen or discussed by government ministries, but at ZANU–PF's annual congress. In 1997 the government published a list of 1,471 farms it intended to buy compulsorily for redistribution. The list was compiled via a nationwide land identification exercise undertaken throughout
4524-448: The area of Southern Rhodesia—to European immigrants. By 1913 this had been extended to 21.5 million acres. However, these concessions were strictly regulated, and land was only offered to those individuals able to prove they had the necessary capital to develop it. Exceptions were made during the Ndebele and Shona insurrections against the BSAC in the mid-1890s, when land was promised to any European men willing to take up arms in defence of
4640-699: The colony, irrespective of their financial status. The settlers of the Pioneer Column were granted tracts of 3,150 acres apiece, with an option to purchase more land from the BSAC's holdings at relatively low prices (up to fifteen times cheaper than comparable land on the market in South Africa). Friction soon arose between the settlers and the Ndebele and Shona peoples, both in terms of land apportionment and economic competition. In 1900, Southern Rhodesia's black population owned an estimated 55,000 head of cattle, while European residents owned fewer than 12,000. Most of
4756-583: The conscription of hundreds of others into the Rhodesian Security Forces , also led to a drop in the volume of agricultural production. Between 1975 and 1976 Rhodesia's urban population doubled as thousands of rural dwellers, mostly from TTLs, fled to the cities to escape the fighting. A campaign of systematic villagisation followed as the Rhodesian Army shifted segments of the black population into guarded settlements to prevent their subversion by
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4872-481: The contemporary programme, namely failure to compensate ousted landowners as called for by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the poor handling of boundary disputes, and chronic shortages of material and personnel needed to carry out resettlement in an orderly manner. Several farm owners and even more farm workers have been killed during violent takeovers. Land reform has had
4988-581: The country was not permanently settled by European immigrants until three hundred years later. The first great Zimbabwean kingdom was the Rozwi Empire , established in the eleventh century. Two hundred years later, Rozwi imperial rule began to crumble and the empire fell to the Karanga peoples , a relatively new tribe to the region which originated north of the Zambezi River . Both these peoples later came to form
5104-416: The country's extensive farmlands to the black African majority. Before the implementation of these policies, the distribution of land in what was then known as Rhodesia saw a population of 4,400 white Rhodesians owning 51% of the country's land while 4.3 million black Rhodesians owned 42%, with the remainder being non-agricultural land. The discrepancy of this distribution, as well as the overall dominance of
5220-440: The country. In June 2015, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe began to formally demonetise the Zimbabwean dollar, reducing its value steadily to zero in order to complete a switch to the US dollar by the end of September 2015. The Zimbabwean government stated that it would credit 5 US dollars to domestic bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars, and that it would exchange Zimbabwean dollars for US dollars at
5336-541: The destocking programme became mandatory in 1941, forcing all residents of the TTLs to sell or slaughter animals declared surplus. Another 7.2 million acres were also set aside for sale to black farmers, known as the Native Purchase Areas. During the early 1950s, Southern Rhodesia passed the African Land Husbandry Act, which attempted to reform the communal system in the TTLs by giving black Africans
5452-527: The dollar by repeatedly arranging the printing of further banknotes, often at great expense from overseas suppliers. On 1 March 2008 The Sunday Times reported that it had obtained documents showing that the Munich company Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) was receiving more than €500,000 (£381,562) a week for delivering bank notes to the value of Z$ 170 trillion a week. By late 2008, inflation had risen so high that automated teller machines for one major bank gave
5568-458: The drafting stage of the constitution claiming that this new version was to entrench Mugabe politically. Guerrilla veterans of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) began to emerge as a radical force in the land issue around this time. The guerrillas forcefully presented their position that white-owned land in Zimbabwe was rightfully theirs, on account of promises made to them during
5684-541: The dual listing of companies on the Harare (ZH) and London Stock exchanges (LN). On 30 July 2008, the dollar was redenominated and given a new currency code of ZWR . After 1 August 2008, 10 billion ZWN were worth 1 ZWR. Coins valued at Z$ 5 , Z$ 10 and Z$ 25 and banknotes worth Z$ 5 , Z$ 10 , Z$ 20 , Z$ 100 , and Z$ 500 were issued in ZWR. Due to frequent cash shortages and the apparently worthless Zimbabwean dollar, foreign currency
5800-437: The end of 2008. While worthless at the time, these 100 trillion dollar notes subsequently became popular with collectors. On 2 February 2009, the RBZ announced that a further 12 zeros were to be taken off the currency, with 1,000,000,000,000 third Zimbabwean dollars being exchanged for 1 new fourth dollar. New banknotes were introduced with face values of Z$ 1 , Z$ 5 , Z$ 10 , Z$ 20 , Z$ 50 , Z$ 100 and Z$ 500 . The banknotes of
5916-487: The farm was unoccupied and not being used for agricultural activity. Southern Rhodesia's independence was finally recognised as the Republic of Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980. As Zimbabwe's first prime minister, Mugabe reaffirmed his commitment to land reform. The newly created Zimbabwean Ministry of Lands, Resettlement, and Redevelopment announced later that year that land reform would be necessary to alleviate overpopulation in
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#17329011594386032-438: The farmowners due to various legal irregularities. President Mugabe responded by indicating that in his opinion land reform was a strictly political issue, not one to be questioned or debated by the judiciary. The increasing politicisation of land reform was accompanied by the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. Public opinion on the Zimbabwean land reform process among British citizens
6148-410: The first dollar was redenominated to the second dollar at the rate of 1000 first dollars to 1 second dollar (1000:1). At the same time, the currency was devalued against the US dollar, from 101000 first dollars (101 once revalued) to 250 second dollars, a decrease of about 60% (see exchange rate history table below). ISO originally assigned a new currency code of ZWN to this redenominated currency, but
6264-492: The former TTLs, extend the production potential of small-scale subsistence farmers, and improve the standards of living of rural blacks. Its stated goals were to ensure abandoned or under-utilised land was being exploited to its fullest potential, and provide opportunities for unemployed, landless peasants. Inequalities in land ownership were inflated by a growing overpopulation problem, depletion of over-utilised tracts , and escalating poverty in subsistence areas parallel with
6380-405: The fourth dollar circulated alongside the third dollar, which remained legal tender until 30 June 2009. The new ISO currency code was ZWL. Despite the introduction of the fourth dollar, however, the problems were not eliminated, and the economy continued to be almost completely dollarised . In his first budget, the Zimbabwe finance minister, Tendai Biti , stated "the death of the Zimbabwe dollar
6496-488: The government drafted a new constitution. The draft was discussed widely by the public in formal meetings and amended to include restrictions on presidential powers, limits to the presidential term of office, and an age limit of 70 for presidential candidates. This was not seen as a suitable outcome for the government, so the proposals were amended to replace those clauses with one to compulsorily acquire land for redistribution without compensation. The opposition mostly boycotted
6612-438: The government intended to purchase 10,000 square kilometres for redistribution. In September 1998, the government called a donors conference in Harare on LRRP II to inform the donor community and involve them in the program: Forty-eight countries and international organisations attended and unanimously endorsed the land program, saying it was essential for poverty reduction, political stability and economic growth. They agreed that
6728-448: The growing of sugar cane. As of 2011, 237,858 Zimbabwean households had been provided with access to land under the programme. A total of 10,816,886 hectares had been acquired since 2000, compared to the 3,498,444 purchased from voluntary sellers between 1980 and 1998. By 2013, every white-owned farm in Zimbabwe had been either expropriated or confirmed for future redistribution. The compulsory acquisition of farmland without compensation
6844-522: The inception phase, covering the first 24 months, should start immediately, particularly appreciating the political imperative and urgency of the proposal. The Commercial Farmers Union freely offered to sell the government 15,000 square kilometres for redistribution, but landowners once again dragged their feet. In response to moves by the National Constitutional Assembly, a group of academics, trade unionists and other political activists,
6960-540: The insurgents. In 1977, the Land Tenure Act was amended by the Rhodesian parliament, which further reduced the amount of land reserved for white ownership to 200,000 hectares, or 500,000 acres. Over 15 million hectares were thus opened to purchase by persons of any race. Two years later, as part of the Internal Settlement , Zimbabwe Rhodesia 's incoming biracial government under Bishop Abel Muzorewa abolished
7076-421: The land and had committed to pay out US$ 3.5 billion. Compensation efforts continued in 2024. The foundation for the controversial land dispute in Zimbabwean society was laid at the beginning of European settlement of the region, which had long been the scene of mass movements by various Bantu peoples . In the sixteenth century, Portuguese explorers had attempted to open up Zimbabwe for trading purposes, but
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#17329011594387192-407: The land could be used intensively for grain cultivation such as maize, tobacco, and wheat. Region III and Region IV endured periodic drought and were regarded as suitable for livestock, in addition to crops which required little rainfall. Region V was lowveld and unsuitable for crop cultivation due to its dry nature; however, limited livestock farming was still viable. Land ownership in these regions
7308-404: The land on which they were resettled, and thus could not use it as collateral. With no security of tenure on the farms, banks have been reluctant to extend loans to the new farmers, many of whom do not have much experience in commercial farming, nor assets to provide alternative collateral for any borrowed money. The party needs to institute mechanisms to solve the numerous problems emanating from
7424-520: The land was divided into small-holder production, so called A1 schemes and commercial farms, called A2 schemes. There is however much overlap between the two categories. The violent takeover of Alamein Farm by retired Army General Solomon Mujuru sparked the first legal action against one of Robert Mugabe's inner circle. In late 2002 the seizure was ruled illegal by the High and Supreme Courts of Zimbabwe; however
7540-428: The large number of people it was resettling in new areas. After 1983, the domestic budget could no longer sustain resettlement measures, and despite British aid the number of farms being purchased gradually declined for the remainder of the decade. In 1986, the government of Zimbabwe cited financial restraints and an ongoing drought as the two overriding factors influencing the slow progress of land reform. However, it
7656-672: The larger number of people attempting to share the same acreage. During the early nineteenth century, the Shona were conquered by the Northern Ndebele (also known as the Matabele ), which began the process of commodifying Zimbabwe's land. Although the Ndebele elite were uninterested in cultivation, land ownership was considered one major source of an individual's wealth and power—the others being cattle and slaves. Ndebele monarchs acquired large swaths of land for themselves accordingly. Land hunger
7772-581: The legislation and unwittingly squatting on land redesignated for white ownership. The land would be sold in the meantime, and the government obliged to evict the preexisting occupants. These incidents and others were instrumental in eliciting sympathy among Rhodesia's black population for nationalist movements such as the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), which sought to overthrow
7888-408: The local currency "for at least a year", effectively terminating the fourth dollar. All four issues of the Zimbabwean dollar experienced high rates of inflation, although it was not until the early 2000s that Zimbabwe started to experience completely unsustainable hyperinflation . On 13 July 2007, the Zimbabwean government said that it had temporarily stopped publishing (official) inflation figures,
8004-575: The media, the new constitution was defeated, 55% to 45%. On 26–27 February 2000, the pro-Mugabe Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) organised several people (including but not limited to war veterans; many of them were their children and grandchildren) to march on white-owned farmlands, initially with drums, song and dance. This movement was officially termed the "Fast-Track Land Reform Program" (FTLRP). The predominantly white farm owners were forced off their lands along with their workers, who were typically of regional descent. This
8120-476: The mid-1990s. Prime Minister Mugabe, who assumed an executive presidency in 1987, had urged restraint by enforcing a leadership code of conduct which barred members of the ruling party, ZANU–PF , from monopolising large tracts of farmland and then renting them out for profit. Local media outlets soon exposed huge breaches of the code by Mugabe's family and senior officials in ZANU–PF. Despite calls for accountability,
8236-447: The money to pay compensation, but there was no violation." – Patrick Chinamasa , Zimbabwe Finance Minister (2014) The government held a referendum on the new constitution on 12–13 February 2000, despite having a sufficiently large majority in parliament to pass any amendment it wished. Had it been approved, the new constitution would have empowered the government to acquire land compulsorily without compensation. Despite vast support in
8352-509: The most fertile farmland in Regions I, II, and III continued to be included in the white enclave. Abuses of the system continued to abound; some white farmers took advantage of the legislation to shift their property boundaries into land formerly designated for black settlement, often without notifying the other landowners. A related phenomenon was the existence of black communities, especially those congregated around missions, which were oblivious to
8468-678: The names of currencies in Japanese katakana . They are intended for compatibility with earlier character sets. Land reform in Zimbabwe Land reform in Zimbabwe officially began in 1980 with the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement , as a program to redistribute farmland from white Zimbabweans to black Zimbabweans as an effort by the ZANU-PF government to give more control over
8584-513: The new Labour government's approach to Zimbabwean land reform. She said that the UK did not accept that Britain had a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. Notwithstanding the Lancaster House commitments, Short stated that her government was only prepared to support a programme of land reform that was part of a poverty eradication strategy. She had other questions regarding
8700-650: The new symbol. For example, the European Commission was criticized for not considering how the euro sign would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was also exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most type foundries designing customized versions that match the 'look and feel' of the font to which it is to be added, often with reduced width. & U+FFE6 ￦ FULLWIDTH WON SIGN Some of these symbols may not display correctly. The Unicode CJK Compatibility block contains several square versions of
8816-715: The nucleus of the Shona civilisation , along with the Zezuru in central Zimbabwe, the Korekore in the north, the Manyika in the east, the Ndau in the southeast, and the Kalanga in the southwest. Most Shona cultures had a theoretically communal attitude towards land ownership; the later European concept of officiating individual property ownership was unheard of. Land was considered the collective property of all
8932-607: The numeric amounts: €2.50 , 2,50€ and 2 [REDACTED] 50 . Symbols are neither defined nor listed by international standard ISO 4217 , which only assigns three-letter codes. When writing currency amounts, the location of the symbol varies by language. For currencies in English-speaking countries and in most of Latin America, the symbol is placed before the amount, as in $ 20.50 . In most other countries, including many in Europe,
9048-491: The owners could be persuaded to sell. Between April 1980 and September 1987, the acreage of land occupied by white-owned commercial farms was reduced by about 20%. After the expiration of the entrenched constitutional conditions mandated by the Lancaster House Agreement in the early 1990s, Zimbabwe outlined several ambitious new plans for land reform. A National Land Policy was formally proposed and enshrined as
9164-492: The party members were never disciplined. Instead of being resettled by landless peasants, several hundred commercial farms acquired under the Land Acquisition Act continued to be leased out by politically connected individuals. In 1994, a disproportionate amount of the land being acquired was held by fewer than 600 black landowners, many of whom owned multiple properties. One study of commercial farms found that over half
9280-480: The pastureland was being grazed by African-owned cattle, accordingly. However, in less than two decades the Ndebele and Shona came to own over a million head of cattle, with white farmers owning another million as well. As the amount of available pasture for the livestock quickly dwindled, accompanied by massive amounts of overgrazing and erosion, land competition between the three groups became intense. A number of successive land commissions were thus appointed to study
9396-724: The previous owner was unable to effect the court orders and General Mujuru continued living at the farm until his death on 15 August 2011. Many other legal challenges to land acquisition or to eviction were not successful. On 10 June 2004, a spokesperson for the British embassy, Sophie Honey, said: The Minister for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, John Nkomo, had declared five days earlier that all land, from crop fields to wildlife conservancies, would soon become state property. Farmland deeds would be replaced with 99-year leases, while leases for wildlife conservancies would be limited to 25 years. There have since been denials of this policy, however. Parliament, dominated by ZANU–PF , passed
9512-464: The problem and apportion the land. The colonial government in Southern Rhodesia delineated the country into five distinct farming regions which corresponded roughly to rainfall patterns. Region I comprised an area in the eastern highlands with markedly higher rainfall best suited to the cultivation of diversified cash crops such as coffee and tea. Region II was highveld , also in the east, where
9628-479: The public sector became frantic". On 6 September 2007, the Zimbabwe dollar was devalued again by 92%, creating an official exchange rate of ZW$ 30 000 to US$ 1 , although the black market exchange rate was estimated to be ZW$ 600 000 to US$ 1 . As an official exchange rate became more unreliable, the WM/Reuters company introduced a notional exchange rate (ISO ZWN) which was based on Purchasing Power Parity utilising
9744-400: The purchase of white farms were frequently diverted into defence expenditure throughout the mid-1980s, for which Zimbabwean officials received some criticism. Reduction of funding posed another dilemma: property prices were now beyond what the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement, and Redevelopment could afford to meet its goals. It was also unable to build sufficient roads, clinics, and schools for
9860-423: The ratio of land to population was so high that many farms could not be exploited to their fullest potential, and some prime white-owned farmland was lying idle. Secondly, the legislation resulted in enforced overuse of the land in the TTLs due to overpopulation there. The Southern Rhodesian Land Apportionment Act reserved 49 million acres for white ownership and left 17.7 million acres of land unassigned to either
9976-517: The redistributed land that year went to absentee owners otherwise unengaged in agriculture. The perceived monopolisation of land by the ruling party provoked intense opposition from the ESAP donor states, which argued that those outside the patronage of ZANU-PF were unlikely to benefit. In 1996, party interests became even more inseparable from the issue of land reform when President Mugabe gave ZANU–PF's central committee overriding powers—superseding those of
10092-546: The redistribution of land. The British government, which mediated the talks, proposed a constitutional clause underscoring property ownership as an inalienable right to prevent a mass exodus of white farmers and the economic collapse of the country. This was enshrined in Section 16 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, 1980 . To secure Mugabe and Nkomo's support for the constitutional agreement, Lord Carrington announced that
10208-399: The reservation of land according to race. White farmers continued to own 73.8% of the most fertile land suited for intensive cash crop cultivation and livestock grazing, in addition to generating 80% of the country's total agricultural output. This was a vital contribution to the economy, which was still underpinned by its agricultural exports. Land reform emerged as a critical issue during
10324-423: The residents in a given chiefdom, with the chief mediating disagreements and issues pertaining to its use. Nevertheless, male household heads frequently reserved personal tracts for their own cultivation, and allocated smaller tracts to each of their wives. Population growth frequently resulted in the over-utilisation of the existing land, which became greatly diminished both in terms of cultivation and grazing due to
10440-483: The return of the Zimbabwe dollar will only be considered when key economic fundamentals, such as productivity in key sectors, have been achieved. Similar to the Iraqi dinar scam , some promoters claim that a future "revalue" (RV) event will cause Zimbabwe dollar notes to regain some nonzero fraction of their original value. In 1980, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, and 1 dollar. The 1 cent coin
10556-442: The right to apply for formal title deeds to specific tracts. This legislation proved so unpopular and difficult to enforce that incoming Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith ordered its suspension in the mid-1960s. Smith's administration subsequently recognised the traditional leaders of each chiefdom as the final authority on land allocation in the TTLs. Following Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence , land legislation
10672-523: The symbol is placed after the amount, as in 20,50€ . Exceptionally, the symbol for the Cape Verdean escudo (like the Portuguese escudo , to which it was formerly pegged ) is placed in the decimal separator position, as in 2 [REDACTED] 50 . Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies. The modern dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote
10788-420: The under-utilisation of land on commercial farms. The predominantly white commercial sector used the labor of over 30% of the paid workforce and accounted for some 40% of exports. Its principal crops included sugarcane , coffee , cotton , tobacco and several varieties of high-yield hybrid maize . Both the commercial farms and the subsistence sector maintained large cattle herds, but over 60% of domestic beef
10904-547: The value of the US dollar than to the pound sterling . The main illustration on the obverse of all of the banknotes was the Chiremba Balancing Rocks in Epworth , Harare , which were used as a metaphor demonstrating the importance of balancing development and the preservation of the fragile environment. The reverse side of dollar notes often illustrated the culture or landmarks of Zimbabwe. The first Zimbabwean dollar
11020-709: The way in which land would be acquired and compensation paid, and the transparency of the process. Her government's position was spelt out in a letter to Zimbabwe's Agriculture Minister, Kumbirai Kangai: The letter concluded by stating that a programme of rapid land acquisition would be impossible to support, citing concern about the damage which this might do to Zimbabwe's agricultural output and its prospects of attracting investment. Kenneth Kaunda , former president of Zambia , responded dismissively by saying "when Tony Blair took over in 1997, I understand that some young lady in charge of colonial issues within that government simply dropped doing anything about it." In June 1998,
11136-405: The white population in the newly-independent but largely unrecognized Rhodesian state was challenged by the black nationalist organizations ZANU and ZAPU in the Rhodesian Bush War . At the establishment of the modern Zimbabwean state in 1980 after the bush war, the Lancaster House Agreement held a clause that prohibited forced transfer of land, this resulted in changes in land distribution from
11252-434: The white preserve or the TTLs. While a survey undertaken by the colony's Land Commission in concert with the British government in 1925 found that the vast majority of black Rhodesians supported some form of geographic segregation, including the reservation of land exclusively for their use, many were disillusioned by the manner in which the legislation was implemented in explicit favour of whites. The overcrowded conditions in
11368-544: The willing sale or transfer by owners being minor until 2000, when the government of Robert Mugabe began a more aggressive policy. The government's land reform policy is perhaps the most controversial and contested political issue surrounding Zimbabwe. It has been criticised for the violence and intimidation which marred several expropriations, as well as the parallel collapse of domestic banks which held billions of dollars' worth of bonds on liquidated properties. The United Nations has identified several key shortcomings with
11484-399: The year. Landowners were given thirty days to submit written objections. Many farms were delisted and then re-listed as the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture debated the merits of acquiring various properties, especially those which ZANU–PF had ordered be expropriated for unspecified "political reasons". Of the 1,471 individual property acquisitions, about 1,200 were appealed to the courts by
11600-548: Was again amended with the Rhodesian Land Tenure Act of 1969. The Land Tenure Act upended the Land Apportionment Act of 1930 and was designed to rectify the issue of insufficient land available to the rapidly expanding black population. It reduced the amount of land reserved for white ownership to 45 million acres and reserved another 45 million acres for black ownership, introducing parity in theory; however,
11716-495: Was also clear that within the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement, and Redevelopment itself there was a lack of initiative and trained personnel to plan and implement mass resettlements. Parliament passed the Land Acquisition Act in 1985, which gave the government first right to purchase excess land for redistribution to the landless. It empowered the government to claim tracts adjacent to the former TTLs (now known simply as "Communal Areas") and mark them for resettlement purposes, provided
11832-468: Was at the centre of the Rhodesian Bush War , and was addressed at Lancaster House, which sought to concede equitable redistribution to the landless without damaging the white farmers' vital contribution to Zimbabwe's economy. At independence from the United Kingdom in 1980, the Zimbabwean authorities were empowered to initiate the necessary reforms; as long as land was bought and sold on a willing basis,
11948-555: Was because of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP), a programme of economic liberalisation that dismantled a planned "siege" economy from the UDI era. However, the ESAP caused widespread poverty and unemployment, since many of the lost jobs depended on formerly-subsidised exports with reduced global demand. The widespread poverty and unemployment, combined with impromptu spending to support veterans of
12064-418: Was considering legislation that would compel commercial banks to finance black peasants who had been allocated formerly white-owned farmland in the land reforms. Made warned that banks failing to lend a substantial portion of their income to these farmers would have their licenses withdrawn. The newly resettled peasants had largely failed to secure loans from commercial banks because they did not have title over
12180-464: Was decidedly mediocre; it was perceived as a poor investment on the part of the UK's government in an ineffectual and shoddily implemented programme. In June 1996, Lynda Chalker , British secretary of state for international development, declared that she could not endorse the new compulsory acquisition policy and urged Mugabe to return to the principles of "willing buyer, willing seller". On 5 November 1997, Chalker's successor, Clare Short , described
12296-571: Was determined by race under the terms of the Southern Rhodesian Land Apportionment Act , passed in 1930, which reserved Regions I, II, and III for white settlement. Region V and a segment of Region II which possessed greater rainfall variability were organised into the Tribal Trust Lands (TTLs), reserved solely for black African ownership and use. This created two new problems: firstly, in the areas reserved for whites,
12412-547: Was discontinued in early 2018. In 2019, the Commercial Farmers Union stated that white farmers who had land expropriated under the fast track program had agreed to accept an interim compensation offer by the Zimbabwean government of RTGS $ 53 million (US$ 17 million) as part of the government effort to compensate dispossessed farmers. A year later, the Zimbabwean government announced that it would be compensating dispossessed white farmers for infrastructure investments in
12528-590: Was effectively abandoned as an official currency on 12 April 2009, when the Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma confirmed the suspension of the national currency for at least a year. On 29 January 2014, the Zimbabwe central bank announced that the US dollar , South African rand , Botswana pula , pound sterling , Euro , Australian dollar , Chinese yuan (renminbi) , Indian rupee , and Japanese yen would all be accepted as legal currency within
12644-504: Was effectively legalised as a de facto currency on 13 September 2008 via a special program. This program officially allowed a number of retailers to accept foreign money. This reflected the reality of the dollarisation of the economy, with many shop keepers refusing to accept Zimbabwe dollars and requesting US dollars or South African rand instead. Despite redenomination, the RBZ was forced to print banknotes of ever higher values to keep up with surging inflation, with ten zeros reappearing by
12760-574: Was furnished by the former. In sharp contrast, the life of typical subsistence farmers was difficult, and their labour poorly rewarded. As erosion increased, the ability of the subsistence sector to feed its adherents diminished greatly. Despite extensive financial assistance from the UK, the first phase of Zimbabwe's land reform programme was widely regarded as unsuccessful. Zimbabwe was only able to acquire 3 million hectares (7.41 million acres) for black resettlement, well short of its intended target of 8 million hectares (19.77 million acres). This land
12876-414: Was granted for "budgetary support" and was spent on a variety of projects, including land reform. Zimbabwe also began to court other donors through its Economic Structural Adjustment Policies (ESAP), which were projects implemented in concert with international agencies and tied to foreign loans. The diversion of farms for personal use by Zimbabwe's political elite began to emerge as a crucial issue during
12992-418: Was introduced in 1980 and replaced the Rhodesian dollar at par . The initial ISO 4217 code was ZWD . At the time of its introduction, the Zimbabwean dollar was worth more than the US dollar in the official exchange market, with 1 ZWD = US$ 1.47 , although this did not reflect the actual purchasing power it held. The value of the dollar began to erode significantly from August 1991 onwards: originally, this
13108-590: Was often done violently and without compensation. In this first wave of farm invasions, a total of 110,000 square kilometres of land had been seized. Several million black farm workers were excluded from the redistribution, leaving them without employment. According to Human Rights Watch , by 2002 the War Veterans Association had "killed white farm owners in the course of occupying commercial farms" on at least seven occasions, in addition to "several tens of [black] farm workers". The first white farmers to die as
13224-557: Was redistributed to about 50,000 households. Many former supporters of the nationalist movements felt that the promises of Nkomo and Mugabe with regards to the land had not been truly fulfilled. This sentiment was especially acute in Matabeleland , where the legacy of the Southern Rhodesian Land Apportionment Act was more disadvantageous to black Zimbabweans than other parts of the country. Funds earmarked for
13340-487: Was struck in bronze , with the others struck in cupro-nickel . In 1989, bronze-plated steel replaced bronze. A 2-dollar coin was introduced in 1997. In 2001, nickel-plated steel replaced cupro-nickel in the 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 dollar coins, and a bimetallic 5-dollar coin was introduced. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced plans for new Z$ 5,000 and Z$ 10,000 coins in June 2005, although these were never actually struck. In its 2014 mid-term monetary policy statement,
13456-484: Was worth 10 ZWD (first dollars). Use of the Zimbabwean dollar as an official currency was effectively abandoned on 12 April 2009. It was demonetised in 2015, with outstanding accounts able to be reimbursed until 30 April 2016. In place of the Zimbabwean dollar, currencies including the South African rand , Botswana pula , pound sterling , Indian rupee , euro , Japanese yen , Australian dollar , Chinese yuan , and
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