United States-based economist and currency expert Steve Hanke has ranked the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency as the seventh worst-performing unit in the world.

He also accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of incompetence and presiding over corruption.

In his weekly currency watchlist released Sunday, Hanke said the ZiG has depreciated by 26% against the United States dollar over the past year, placing it among the globe's weakest currencies.

"On this week's Hanke's currency watchlist, Zimbabwe's ZiG comes in as the world's 7th worst currency. The ZiG has depreciated by 26% against the USD year over year.

Hanke, a long-time critic of Zimbabwe's monetary policies, also issued a scathing assessment of Mnangagwa's leadership, labelling his administration as corrupt.

"President Mnangagwa = arrogant, incompetent and corrupt," Hanke added.

The John's Hopkins Professor has been measuring Zimbabwe's inflation rate for over five years.

The comments come as authorities continue to defend the ZiG as a stable and structured currency backed by gold and foreign reserves.

The ZiG was introduced in April 2024 to reduce Zimbabwe's dependency on the US dollar. However up to now, most businesses remain reluctant to accept the domestic currency preferring the greenback.

The ZiG replaced the Zimbabwean dollar, which was introduced in 2019 but was rendered worthless due to hyperinflation.

Meanwhile, government plans to phase out the US dollar and make ZiG the sole currency by 2030.