New currency already in short supply as Zimbabweans convert, convert, convert

By Tererai Karimakwenda

3 August 2006

Zimbabweans trying to get rid of their old money before the 21 st of August, as stipulated by Reserve Bank gGvernor Gideon Gono this week, are finding it is not going to be easy at all. It is reported that the new bearer cheques are already in short supply and some people were receiving old cheques at the banks. It is not clear why this is happening just days after Gono announced that 3 zeros would be dropped from Zimbabwe’s currency and gave people 21 days to convert their old notes. Police, youth militia and RBZ officials are reported to be manning road blocks at all major entry points leading to the capital. There have been many reports that these teams are confiscating foreign currency and Zimbabwean dollars, illegally.

Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchmewa reports that bank officials have already started informing people converting their old money that they can only accept amounts that are less than the maximum allowed by the new regulations. Muchmewa said they do not seem to have enough of the new currency to meet the huge demand. He witnessed several incidents in Harare banks where people expecting to withdraw cash in the new currency were given old notes and refused to accept them. He added that in the end they had to accept whatever they were given because they needed money for daily living.

Muchemwa told us there is also chaos in the shops, on the streets and on the minibuses. He said people are trying to get rid of old money by spending it before the 3 week deadline but street vendors as well as shop owners are refusing to accept it. This is because they also have to find ways to get rid of it themselves or chance losing it. Muchemwa said there are arguments everywhere regarding money because nothing seems to be clear and no-one seems to have the answers.

Muchemwa described how people are being subjected to extremely embarrassing and inhumane treatment by money squads as they claim to be searching for excessive amounts of cash. He talked to several individuals who alleged that they had lost all the forex they were travelling with at road blocks leading to Harare. The search squads are said to be benefiting from the situation and have become a law unto themselves.