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Bart Mukucha
From the undoubted and inspired passages of the Holy Bible we get glimpses of the land of Ophir.

The land got the name from one of the sons of Joktan, an early descendant of Noah after the great flood.

Ophir migrated southwards after the great flood of Noah and the land where he settled came to be referred repeatedly in the Bible as the “the land of Ophir.”

In 1 Kings 9:28 we learn that King Solomon sent his men together with those of King Hiram to Ophir and they brought back 420 talents of gold.

At one point, King Solomon had reserves of 3 000 (225 tons) talents of gold from Ophir which he donated for the construction of the Lord’s Temple.

Unlike his father King David who spent time waging war and collecting foreskins from vanquished Philistines, King Solomon was a great and shrewd dealmaker.

Next, we get our cue card and roadmap from trees and wild animals. King Solomon received algum wood (used interchangeably with almug) from King Hiram who obtained it from Ophir. The word algum suggests that the wood was in the form of planks but does not specify the type of tree. But we are told King Solomon used it for supports and steps in the construction of the temple and Royal Palace. This clearly indicates the wood was from hardwood trees such as mukwa, teak and mahogany. These are some of the hardest woods in the world and they are found in the savanna lands of southern Africa which include the Zimbabwe of today.

We then learn that the ships brought ivory, gold, apes and baboons presumably from Ophir on their three yearly voyages. All these are also to be found in the area covering the latter day territory of southern Africa.

The 3 420 talents of gold (260 tons) mentioned by number from Ophir represent an enormous treasure of gold. Any mining engineer will know this represents a huge and spectacular mining operation. Such an operation would be an awesome engineering fit and would come with a huge dumpsite.

For all intents and purposes, we can safely conclude that our present-day Zimbabwe is sitting snugly on the ancient biblical territory of Ophir, a land laden with gold like no other mentioned in the Bible. The country should therefore move with haste to reclaim its Biblical heritage and restyle its name to Zimbabwe-Ophir. This is certainly a more pleasing double-barrelled name than the old moniker Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

Turning now to the situation in Zimbabwe, these are well known facts.

The country has no foreign exchange reserves of note with which to support its currency.

The country has poor, out-dated industrial machinery and insufficient electricity supplies and is unable to produce goods competitively for the international markets.

The country has a balance of payments deficit and a chronic shortage of foreign exchange.

The exchange rate of the local currency is at the mercy and whims of speculators, detractors and agents provocateurs.

The country has failed to get sufficient support from international financial institutions to stabilize the exchange rate.

Zimbabwe is one of the most highly mineralized countries in the world and yet is wallowing in economic confusion and poverty.

Yet in spite of all these challenges, the country can still have a stable exchange rate that takes a level chosen by the official monetary authorities if the gold standard with special adaptations is adopted. The ancient gold history of the country mentioned earlier and proven by present-day geological reports are a strong justification for the gold standard.

What is the Gold Standard? It is a monetary system in which the local currency is pegged against a fixed quantity of gold. And gold has unquestionable value and is legal tender in all countries on earth. A currency on the gold standard has unquestionable value and cannot be attacked easily by speculators and agents provocateurs.

All the countries we now call “developed” were on the gold standard at critical stages of their economic growth in the 19th century. Here we talk of the USA, UK, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Canada and Russia. China was not on the gold standard due to limited gold resources but resorted to the Silver Standard which worked well for them. Yet all these countries were not worthy of mention by God in the Bible as sources of gold. So, Zimbabwe occupies a place of pride under the sun as the only veritable source of gold on the earth.

The answer to the cyclical economic poverty trap in Zimbabwe is to put the Zimbabwe Dollar on the gold standard with special adaptations. The country has more than enough gold to make it work. The ancient King Solomon certainly showed us the way. And who can doubt the wisdom of that one?

The failure of the RBZ to seize control of the exchange rate from economic saboteurs and agents provocateurs is the biggest cause of rising inflation in Zimbabwe.

For Zimbabwe the gold standard represents a home-grown solution needing no external intervention. Its implementation will certainly show Zimbabwe’s special place of pride under the sun because of the abundance of its gold. It is a trail blazing enterprise that will show other African countries the value of their natural resources in economic endeavors.

How do other countries market their gold and use it to best advantage? What can Zimbabwe learn?

Across the Limpopo, South Africa markets its gold via the Kruger Rand which is highly regarded around the world as a bell weather investment when times are hard. Between 1974 and 1985 about 22 million gold Krugerrand coins were imported into the USA alone. This enormous success encouraged other countries to mint and issue gold bullion coins of their own.

So, we had the Canadian – Gold Maple Leaf, the Australian Nugget, the Chinese Gold Panda, the American Gold Eagle and the British Britannia coin.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Krugerrand features on its obverse side Paul Kruger the granddaddy of apartheid, the coin is the most popular in the world.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, markets its gold through jewelry made by Aurex Jewelry, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. This jewelry is popular with fashionistas and the impact of this enterprise on the bigger economic picture of Zimbabwe is not known by the common man.

Picture in your mind, a patriotic and creative Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. They work closely with the Ministry of Mines which is running a “Command Gold” program. Every two weeks they run public auction to sell gold, the Munhumutapa Gold Series. The series consists of miniature gold Zimbabwe bird with diamond eyes. The birds weigh 750g, 500g and 350g respectively – a family.

Investors from all over the world are invited to come and buy the series. Locals are not excluded and can buy in Zimbabwe Dollar at a rate of exchange determined by monetary authorities. These auctions can fix the exchange rate and bring it within control of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

What will be the impact of putting the local currency on the gold standard?

1. The USD$/Zim$ will be fixed at a desired rate and it will be maintained there by deliberate official control.

2. Prices will come down in a dramatic and massive manner throughout the economy. This is called deflation. In a robust economy, deflation is completely undesirable because it signals a slowdown in economic growth. But in the case of Zimbabwe at this juncture, deflation is completely desirable because it will come in as a correction of the errant and unjustified inflation in recent times.

3. Local currency incomes will rise in real terms.

4. The political bar in the country will be raised and “politics of the stomach” will vanish. Politicians whose stock in trade is the misery of the people will have nothing to peddle. Confidence in government and the banking system will return.

5. Macro-economic stability will return and this will attract both local and foreign investment. This will fuel up economic growth.

6. The RBZ will not need to print more money because the current stock of cash will increase in value. To achieve the same effect as this, the RBZ would need to print more money. This must be avoided.

7. The mechanism of the gold standard will trigger better circulation of cash outside and inside the banking system. This will eliminate prevailing premiums on cash money over electronic money.

8. The gold standard will entice hoarders of money to submit it into the financial system.

Bart Mukucha can be contacted via email [email protected] or mobile 0774447309/0719930568.