GOLD raced past US$5 100 per ounce on Monday as investors flocked to the yellow metal for safety amid escalating geopolitical tensions and intensifying trade wars.
Forecasts that gold can climb to US$6 000 per ounce this year underscore the scale of a global shift towards gold.
Central banks have been among the most aggressive buyers, rebuilding reserves as economic uncertainty deepens. Zimbabwe has joined this trend, with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) accumulating gold to shore up the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency.
Central bank statistics show that gold holdings had more than doubled to nearly four tonnes by the end of last year, from 1,5 tonnes when the ZiG currency was introduced in April 2024.
Beyond central banks, investors are increasingly turning to gold as a hedge against inflation and a tool for portfolio diversification.
For gold-producing countries such as Zimbabwe, the rally presents a significant opportunity. The yellow metal remains one of the country’s most important sources of foreign currency earnings.
According to the African Development Bank, Zimbabwe has more than 4 000 documented gold deposits, representing vast untapped potential that could be unlocked with the right policies and institutional support.
Sustained high prices could bolster export revenues, strengthen fiscal buffers and provide breathing space for an economy long constrained by external shocks and internal weaknesses. However, realising these gains will require deliberate and disciplined policy action.
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Producers need a more conducive operating environment to ramp up output. Key among these measures is timely payment for gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery. Prompt payment reduces the incentive to divert gold to the parallel market, a practice that fuels smuggling and drains the formal economy.
Encouragingly, gold production rose by 17% to a record 46,7 tonnes in 2025, up from 36,48 tonnes in 2024, supported by strong global prices and favourable government policies.
Yet without policy discipline, production growth and transparency, such windfalls can quickly evaporate. Persistent challenges — including gold leakages, under-capitalised producers, power shortages and policy inconsistency — continue to limit Zimbabwe’s ability to fully capitalise on the boom.
Smuggling alone drains billions of dollars from the economy each year, undermining fiscal revenues and monetary stability. At the same time, small-scale miners, who account for a significant share of output, remain constrained by limited access to finance and equipment.
The current rally, therefore, demands more than celebration; it calls for decisive action.
Strengthening gold delivery incentives, stabilising the policy environment, curbing illicit flows and reinvesting mining revenues into productive infrastructure are essential if Zimbabwe is to turn favourable prices into lasting economic gains.
Zimbabwe must resist the temptation to treat high gold prices as a substitute for reform.
Today’s boom must be converted to durable economic foundations that will outlast it.
This demands that authorities must convert this golden moment to sustainable prosperity. Without that, the country risks watching the opportunity glitter — and fade.
