ZIMBABWE ' S MONEY RUNS OUT
An illegal foreign currency trader counts notes at a local bus station in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, November 18, 2016. Picture taken November 18, 2016. REUTERS / Philimon Bulawayo
babwe dollar. " The introduction of bond notes does not mark the return of the Zimbabwe dollar through the back door," it said in a statement on its website. Instead, the bank has presented the notes as a 5 percent " export incentive "- a top-up added by the central bank to the accounts of those receiving foreign exchange either from overseas remittances or via farming, manufacturing and mining exports.
They are backed by a $ 200 million " loan facility " from Afreximbank, a Cairo-based lender owned by the African Development Bank and dozens of African governments and central banks. Afreximbank declined to comment.
Given monthly exports of roughly $ 250 million, the 5 percent ' top-up ' suggests a monthly liquidity injection of just $ 12.5 million, or $ 1 for every Zimbabwean. In public statements, the RBZ has given assurances it will not exceed the $ 200 million issuance ceiling. " Upon withdrawal, banks have an option to pay in any one of the legal tenders," the RBZ said. RBZ Governor John Mangudya missed a scheduled interview with Reuters and did not respond to emailed questions.
No Dollars, No Fun
Few Zimbabweans interviewed believed the RBZ would stick to the issuance limits, especially while a large current account deficit continues to suck dollars out of the country.
After the bond notes ' announcement, # This- Flag and # Tajamuka, social media campaigns targeting the new system, drew the biggest anti-Mugabe protests in a decade before being crushed by riot police and the CIO. Meanwhile, tens of thousands across the country queue through the night to empty their accounts the moment their pay or pensions arrive, exacerbating the liquidity crunch. Banks have responded with daily withdrawal limits: $ 100 one day, $ 50 another, none another. Customers have no idea until the banks open their doors at 8 a. m.
" Sometimes you get to the end of the queue and there ' s no money," said industrial fitter Edmund Panga-
IN HARARE, WHERE MOST U. S. DOLLAR BILLS ARE STAINED DEEP BROWN WITH GRIME, A CRISP 2009-EDITION $ 100 NOTE IS NOW WORTH AS MUCH AS $ 115
42 Business Times Africa | 2016