Already it's the highest inflation rate in the world, but today the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Mr Gideon Gono has announced that the annual inflation rate has hit a record level of 2.2 million percent. Gono announced during the opening ceremony of a goods warehouse in Harare.
Isn't it clear for everyone to see that Mr Gono has failed? Together with the Robert Mugabe that he helps to keep in office, they have all failed and something should be done to rid the country of this regime.
One thing Zimbabwe needs right now is a complete overhaul of all systems and to remove all these people responsible for messing up and destroying the once vibrant economy.
They will not admit it, but Mugabe and his fellow cabinet ministers have failed the country. Ever since that day Mugabe authorised those not budgeted payouts to those thugs and misguided elements who masquerade as war veterans, the country has never recovered.
The violent and chaotic land re-distribution that led to the distraction of the country's' agricultural base did not help the economy either.
Then there was the DRC war, did the country benefit from all the resources that was put in that misadventure? In fact sons and daughters of Zimbabwe were lost in a war which benefited those who were looting the resources of Congo.
Where did Mugabe get the funds to finance that war, at a time the country was experiencing serious economic problems?
Is it that he used funds from the IMF/World Bank, which were meant to support the economy?
Join the debate by posting your comments.
As the political and economic crisis deepens in Zimbabwe, things are getting tough and unbearable everyday for our relatives and friends back home. This is the time when they need the help of family members and friends in the diaspora. Given the cash shortages at banks in Zimbabwe and the continuous fall in the value of the Zimbabwean dollar, which is the best way to send money to our relatives in Zimbabwe?
There is no doubt this is the waste time to be in Zimbabwe. Things are not right, with the economic and political crisis in the country our relatives now rely on every little help we can give. Things are not easier in the diaspora either, what with the current credit crunch affecting global markets.
So how do you send your money to Zimbabwe and get more value for your money?
We tend to rely mostly on people who transfer money directly into bank accounts in Zimbabwe. Even though they may offer higher exchange rates, the problem is your relatives in Zimbabwe will struggle to withdraw the money from the bank. There are cash shortages in Zimbabwe and even though the maximum daily withdrawal limit was recently increased to $100 billion, this is far less than one(£1) British pound, which is exchanging at about $225 billion to £1. So, you can imagine how long it will take your family to withdraw the money you are sending.
And everyday your Zimbabwean dollars are in the bank, they continue to lose value because of the very high inflation in the country.
Add the costs of travelling to the bank, you can see sending Zimbabwean dollars is not the best option to help your family in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean dollar is now useless.....in fact most people prefer conducting business in foreign currency. So it makes sense, if you can send hard currency to your family in Zimbabwe. They can change the money to Zimbabwe dollars when ever they want to use it. That way, they are guarded against inflation and the continuous fall of the Zimbabwe dollar.
You can send money to your relatives in Zimbabwe via Western Union and they give your relatives foreign currency. There are also other money transfer agencies who are also giving foreign currency in Zimbabwe. But once again you need to be careful who you deal with to avoid losing your money.
If ever there was a time when people in Zimbabwe needed relatives in the diaspora, it is now.Join the debate on how you are helping your family and friends in Zimbabwe by posting your comments.
Is there another country in the world which trades in trillions? Zimbabwe's $100 Billion is less than one British pound (1) at today's exchange rate.
The economic crisis in Zimbabwe is getting worse everyday. Even though Robert Mugabe gave himself the mandate to manage the country's economy for another five years, his government does not seem to have a clue on how to solve the economic problems affecting Zimbabwe.
Not even the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Mr Gideon Gono. Struggling to contain inflation estimated to be over 2 million percent, Mr Gono has announced that the daily cash withdrawal limit is going up from the current ZW$25 Billion to ZW$100 Billion.
The reserve bank governor is also expected to deal with the growing number of zeros soon. We expect him to remove some of the zeros from the currency probably in a few months to come or maybe weeks.
Meanwhile companies have started removing zeros for transacting purposes as their systems fail to compute figures now running into trillions.
Lately the Zimbabwe dollar exchange rate has been very unstable, and in fact it still continues to be unstable, falling everyday against major currencies (today £1 is equivalent to ZW$850 million).
It's problem after problem in Zimbabwe today. The Zimbabwe dollar continues to lose value against major currencies, whilst at the same time it doesn't seem as if the reserve bank have a clue on how to end the fall in value of the dollar.
The Zimbabwe dollar is currently trading at one (1) British pound to ZW$850 million and still falling. The rate changes everyday, so the best is to check for the latest exchange rate before any transactions.
So, what is the future of the Zimbabwean dollar?
I think this is now one of those useless currencies in the world, thanks to Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF government. They have managed to destroyed a once very strong Zimbabwean dollar, now it's valueless.
Even the efforts of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono to control the exchange rate have failed to stabilise the Zimbabwean dollar. He has even tried removing zeros from the currency in an effort to give it more 'value'.
The truth is all his efforts have failed......
So what can stabilise the value of this Zimbabwean dollar?
I'm always interested in what you have to say, feel free to post your comment.
Zimbabwe' annual inflation rate rose this month to 1 063 572 percent based on a basket of food stuffs.
How can we describe the economic situation in Zimbabwe? The economy is in crisis, and nothing seems to be going right in Zimbabwe today. And still Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF government still insists that they are the best in managing Zimbabwe's economy. What a joke!
A 1kg chicken costs ZW$1 billion, bread ZW$200 million and chances are by the time you are reading this the prices have changed again. That is how bad things are in Zimbabwe. Crazy stuff, isn't it?
So, can this get any worse than this? I'm afraid YES. As long as the current government remains in power we are doomed Zimbabwe. June 27 is too far. Add to that the days it will take the Electoral Commission to count the votes, add the days for verification and add the days for a possible recount. Then I may not be wrong to say we are sad for more doom and gloom ahead.
Can anyone tell me how Zimbabwe workers can manage to go to work under these difficulty times? Wages can not increase at the same rate as the increase in prices, which means more suffering for the worker.
Transport costs increase everyday, rent for two bedroom apartment is now about ZW$22 billion, add on that the food costs and other requirements. There is no suffering greater than this.
Soon there is going to be a total collapse in all public services in Zimbabwe. And to think that at such a difficult time for the country, the government can even consider spending whatever little money they have on guns and bombs. It makes me angry. Do people eat guns and bombs?
Zimbabwe is the fastest shrinking economy outside a conventional war zone, with much of the country's savings having been used up in spending without corresponding productive income.
"It is as though a starving man has eaten his left foot and starts eating his right foot to survive in the short term," said independent Harare economist John Robertson.
I'm always interested in what you have to say, feel free to post your comments.
As travelling is becoming more expensive, there are ways which can save you money next time you are looking for a cheap flight ticket to Harare or Bulawayo or wherever you want to go.
It is unfortunate that our national airline, Air Zimbabwe is no longer that reliable and their on board services are no longer that good. But if you make use of the following ideas you will be able to save yourself money and also have an enjoyable journey to Zimbabwe.
1. Always check major travel websites like Expedia or Tomas Cook. They will show you the prices for the major airlines. The important factor is shopping around as many of these websites usually have different promotions at different times of the year.
Always watch out for the booking fees, most websites can charge you more on these booking fees. To get the most out of your money always check directly with the airline you intend to travel with and compare the quote that you get from the travel website. It maybe cheaper to buy direct from the airline.
2. Try also websites which focus only on selling airline tickets (niche websites). They usually show routes and tickets from discount airlines which you may not find on major travel sites.
It doesn't seen like we have these budget flights flying to Zimbabwe, but you may just be able to get yourself a good deal.
3. Travel Agents, for many years we have relied on travel agents when making our travel arrangements. Many of us we are used to travel agents and more often we get a better deal from them.
Travel Agents sometimes are able to buy airline tickets in bulk which enable them to sale at a discount.
The most important thing to get cheap air tickets is to shop around and compare. Always make it a habit to compare offers you get from different sources. Make use of major travel websites and also travel agents and don't forget to compare with what the airline itself is offering.
If you can, always buy your tickets months in advance. This way you will be able to get a cheaper ticket than last minute buys.
Get great Flight deals at thomascook.com
Do you have other ideas of saving money on air travel or how to get cheap flight tickets? Feel free to contribute by posting your comments.
Welcome to Zimbabwe! Welcome to the Land of new bank notes!
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced new ZW$500 000 000 bank note in a bid to tackle cash shortages caused by runaway inflation estimated to be about 165 000 percent according to figures released in February. Since then no inflation figures have been released.
Zimbabwe is now surely a country of new bank notes, as the new ZW500 million comes only 10 after the introduction of ZW$100 million and ZW$250 million.
The Reserve Bank also introduced something they are calling 'Agro Cheques', in ZW$5 billion, ZW$25 billion and ZW$50 billion denominations, which will expire in December. These are meant to facilitate the "Implementation of the grain mobilisation programme", in the face of the global food crisis.
"Introducing the new the new ZW$500 million bearer cheque for your convenience", read a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe advert in the government's mouth piece The Herald.
This is the fourth time Zimbabwe has introduced new bank notes this year.
In January higher denomination ZW$10 000 000 bank note
April 2......higher denomination ZW$50 million
May 2.........ZW$100 million and ZW$250 million
Now...........ZW$500 million
The country has gone to the dogs! Is anyone in control of the monetary situation in Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe's chronic economic crisis has condemned many it's people to unprecedented levels of poverty. 80 percent of the population are said to live below the poverty datum line.
Why has the country resorted to printing these valueless papers?
Surely they must be printing these bank notes on bond paper. How can they afford the real paper to print money every week?
Always interested in what you have to say,
Anyone knows how many bank notes we now have in Zimbabwe? I have lost count the monetary situation has gone bananas in our beautiful land of milk and honey.
The Reserve Bank governor Mr Gideon Gono has just announced the introduction of new banks notes. A new ZW$100 000 000 bank note and also a new ZW$250 000 000 bank note. This is meant to minimise the inconvenience to the banking public.
Only last month the reserve bank introduced $25 million and $50 million bank notes. Can there be an failure greater than this? This is probably the mother of all failures and only in Zimbabwe can such failure be rewarded. People spend all their time in queues, hunger and starvation is the order of the day. Only to get $5 billion the maximum allowed in a day, and what do they buy with such a pathetic amount of money, a mobile phone call cost just about $4 million per minute.
So what do you think about this current money situation in Zimbabwe? DO you think anyone is still in control of the situation? Personally I don't think so, they have failed and they should just leave. Until when whilst people are suffering like this and the only solution they authorities have is to print more useless notes.
I'm interested in what you have to say leave your comment.
Is this the kick in the back side that our Zimbabwean dollar needed? After the change of policy by the Reserve Bank from the fixed exchange rate to the willing buyer willing seller policy on Wednesday, black market exchange rates have been falling. From a high rate of £1 to ZW$420 million, the rate has fallen to as low as £1 to ZW$240 million. Who could have thought the exchange rate can drop by half in a few days.
The sudden and massive drop in the exchange rate surely caught some of us in the diaspora by surprise. That was a major drop in the value of the money we send back home. I was probably lucky to get someone changing at just over 400 million.
Do you think the exchange rate will continue falling in reaction to the change in policy by the Reserve Bank. Could this be the end of the black market?
I doubt it, I don't think the fall in exchange rates will last long. This might just be a short term reaction in the exchange rate market, the rate will surely start rising again. But some individual black market traders will find themselves out of business.
Zimbabwe's Central Bank governor Mr Gedion Gono has announced new foreign exchange rules in an attempt to eliminate speculation and help stop the black market. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has with immediate effect introduced a willing buyer, willing seller policy and the country is moving away from the current fixed exchange rate policy.
Just when after I wrote an article asking where Mr Gedion Gono was, when all this madness was taking place in the Zimbabwean economy (you can read previous post here). He has announced a number of measures in his Monetary Policy statement. But this is nothing new as he always announce these Monetary Policy statements. Will he succeed this time around? Not under this current political climate in Zimbabwe.
Under this scheme, Authorised Dealers will match sellers and buyers of foreign currency using a predetermined priority list as set from time to time by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in consultation with different stakeholders in the different sectors of the economy.
The official exchange rate is currently pegged at ZW$30 000.00 to US$1, even though on the parallel market is trading at about ZW$190 million to US$1. The Zimbabwe dollar is also currently trading at ZW$370 million to one British pound.
The Zimbabwean economy has been on free fall for some years now. Inflation is estimated at 165 000 percent. 80 percent of the population is unemployed, and the unemployed few can barely afford to feed their families for just one week on their monthly salaries.
The country is faced with a total collapse of public services, their is a severe shortage of basic commodities, fuel, foreign currency. This is a country which was once the bread basket of Africa but now can barely feed it's citizens.
This is not a joke! Yes, there is nothing wrong with your eyes no need to go to Specsavers. $2.6 Trillion that's how much it will cost you to buy a Nissan pick up truck in Zimbabwe.
Where else can you get such crazy prices?
Welcome to Zimbabwe were a mobile phone call will cost you a minimum of $4 million dollars per minute. The country of millions or is it billions, but we are now dealing in trillions. We should ask Mr Gono, why things have come to this? The country's budget figures are in trillions, our Sunday newspaper will cost you $100 million, now our mobile phone charges are about $4 million per minute. WOW! I give up, we should stop using this Zimbabwean dollar. It's embarrassing, a total disgrace.
The facts, Econet Wireless customers using Buddie will now have to pay $4 091 722.00 per minute. Calls to other networks, that is NetOne and Telecel will cost even more.
International calls to to fixed receivers in United Kingdom, Belgium and other European countries cost about $7 million per minute.
Calls to international mobile phones cost a minimum of $7 319 769.00 per minute. If you find the large figures a bit confusing, well feel sorry for the people of Zimbabwe who have to deal with these figures everyday. Zimbabwe if full of billionaires who have nothing to show for it. The majority ca not afford three decent meals a day. Yet our dear leaders were in the news recently buying guns and bombs from their Chinese friends. Have they no shame?
Glory Be To God!
Where else in the world can you buy a newspaper for 100 million dollars? It only has to be in Zimbabwe. The country of many zeros. Surely can you buy all that propaganda for $100 million? I wouldn't, can anyone else tell me which other country has got such expensive newspapers?
Zimbabwe newspapers group has announced new prices for it's newspapers. The Herald, Chronicle and Manica Post will now cost $80 million dollars, Sunday News $90 million and the Sunday Mail costs $100 million. Crazy! even Kwayedza will cost you $40 million.
How can we really explain the situation in Zimbabwe today? If a newspaper cost $100 000 000.00, how much should the people be earning then? How worse can things get for the people of Zimbabwe before the current regime realise they are doing more harm to the economy with everyday they are in office?
Is it not time to throw in the towel? YES I think it's time to give Morgan a chance, he has been beaten big time and he does not give up.
Anyone knows whether the Reserve Bank governor is still at work? It's been a long time since we have heard from him. The Zimbabwean dollar has been on free fall against major currencies. Now trading at about one British pound to 230 million Zimbabwean dollars. The economy is in free fall, there doesn't seem to be a solution to the cash problems in the banks. Inflation is estimated to be over 150 000 percent, which some say is a more conservative figure. Is there anyone in charge of the monetary system in Zimbabwe?
He used to appear everywhere, even spearheading the government's Operation Maguta Scheme, meant to provide more food to the people after the food shortages caused by the land invasions. I used wonder what the governor was doing spending time in the farms as if he was an agricultural officer. He used to involve himself in events in nearly every other ministry, so what has happened now? Has he finally realised that Zimbabwe is a bigger problem that he can not probably solve?
First there was Sunrise 1 and then there was sunrise 2, all in an effort to solve the Zimbabwean crisis. Did he achieve his objectives? Big NO! Zimbabwe is even worse of. He even rewarded the people of Zimbabwe with a new $50 million bank note. Now you can note even calculators when dealing with these Zimbabwean notes. There are just too many zeros on the notes. He even tried removing those zeros, and again that did not help. Oh! Mr Gono, what happened to the much talked about saviour of the Zimbabwean economy?
Do you remember him and his homelink project? We new that was never going to succeed it was another ploy to get the all important foreign currency from Zimbabweans in the diaspora.
"Dr Gono is a celebrated patriot who has done all he can to assist the government to keep our ship on course amid holes punctured by MDC and it's Western allies through economic sabotage and heinous sanctions" said Adv Martin Dinha in an address to Zanu PF mayors.
Hopefully Mr Gono is working on better plans to pull Zimbabwe out of this economic mess.
Today the Zimbabwean dollar is trading at $200 million to £1. Yes that's true, 200 million dollars for one British pound. Not at all surprising to most Zimbabweans. The Zimbabwean dollar as well as the whole economy has been on free fall, collapsing like a sand castle.
So who would want to be the captain of this sinking titanic? Unless one has a sound turn around strategy. So I'm surprised given the current state of affairs in the Zimbabwean economy some people still claim to be the best custodians of our economy. Given their track record in managing the economy they still want us to believe they are the best Zimbabwe have! Give us a break! They have failed us, why can't they just leave and let someone try and sort this mess?
So for every one pound you get 200 million Zimbabwean dollars?
In God We Trust!
After the confusion and uncertainty of the last few weeks because of the elections in Zimbabwe which saw the rate going down to as low as £1 to ZW$50 million, the exchange rate has started picking up again.
With events currently taking place in the country, our Zimbabwean dollar is bound to lose more value against other currencies. Now 12 days after the presidential elections there is no sign of the results being announced.
Those misguided elements who masquerade as war veterans have started another wave of farm invasions and violence against peace loving and innocent Zimbabweans.
This will drain the life out of whatever little is left of the Zimbabwean economy. The dollar will fall even further, just wondering whether the Reserve Bank governor Mr Gono will consider removing more zeros from the dollar. Recently he introduced a new higher denomination bank note of ZW$50 million.
It has become normal for people of Zimbabwe to move around with ruck sacks and plastic bags to carry around all those loads of bank notes. That is why the 'concerned' reserve bank has introduced the new higher denomination bank note.
Banks have also increased the maximum daily cash withdrawal from $500 million to $1 Billion(about £10). Hopefully this would also help people who spend long hours queueing for cash in banks.
But is the continuous introduction of new higher denomination bank notes the solution to Zimbabwe's cash problems?
Does the reserve bank have control of the country monetary situation? They seem to have more of a reactive policy rather than being proactive policy. What could be the solution to these monetary problems in Zimbabwe?
HomeLink Services helping Zimbabweans in the Diaspora! Who are you kidding?
Get out of Here!
A brain child of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. It was established more than three years ago, started as a money transfer system and has transformed into an investment vehicle for Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, so they want us to believe.
Homelink current products include the Homelink Housing Scheme and the Money Transfer Service.
These products are targeted at Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. For the Housing scheme, loans are disbursed in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwean Dollars, whilst repayments are in foreign currency. So who is benefiting here? You get useless Zimbabwe dollars which can not buy anything, in exchange for your hard earned foreign currency. Why don't they give you building materials instead? They know they are ripping you off.
So, who has used homelink before? Who is currently using homelink? Does it have any success stories? You work hard for your money, so use it wisely.
Homelink private limited says it will broaden its product range as it seeks to harness more foreign currency inflows into the country from Zimbabweans living abroad.
Homelink is said to have identified the following products to be targeted at 3 million Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora.
Funeral Schemes
Export Home Products, I don't know if they mean Chibuku(scud). Because there are many of these home products already available in the Diaspora.
Insurance Schemes and Health Care Schemes.
"These products are meant to save the interests of Zimbabweans living outside the country, and also the country will benefit from foreign currency inflows".
The officials at Homelink want us to believe they are coming up with new products for Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora! In fact there are people already providing those services and products.
The problem with Homelink people is they think they can fool everyone. All they are interested in is getting your hard earned forex. Who can say they got a better deal from the Homelink Housing Scheme. People got loans in Zimbabwe Dollars which did not even cover the full costs of the building those houses, yet they are still repaying those loans in foreign currency.
Let’s face it; these guys are in it for their own benefit.
Latest exchange rates on homelink website:
Pound $58 743
Rand $4 451.86
USD $30 000.00
Pula $5 055.00
What Do You Think? Your Opinion is very important feel free to post your comment.
Have you experienced delays in getting your money back home? Well, there are problems there at the banks in Zimbabwe. Besides the power outages experienced in Zimbabwe last week, it has also been reported that the Real Time Transfer Gross Settlement (RTGS) system has been experiencing problems since Monday last week.
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe president Dr John Mangudya said the problem emanated from TelOne link and also the installation by Banks and Building Societies of the new electronic security system introduced by the reserve bank of Zimbabwe.
Mr Mangudya said, "banks are currently looking at temporary measures to avoid further inconveniences to the public while the problem is being rectified.
TelOne acting managing director confirmed the disruption of the connection system saying their link station has run out of diesel.
"We had some prolonged power cuts and our link station ran out of diesel. Since we do not have reserves, we had to empty fuel from other repeater stations. (A national company living from hand to mouth)
Zimbabwe has been experiencing severe economic problems and only last week the country was plunged into darkness when Eskom stopped supplying Zimbabwe with electricity. This brought many businesses to a standstill when the country was left without essential services.
Do you think the reserve bank governor is doing a good job managing the economy? Will he be able to pull the country out of this terrible mess?
It is most people's dream to become a millionaire one day. Most people work hard day and night, some go to extremes to be millionaires. Most will die without achieving this dream. Where as in Zimbabwe nearly everyone is a poor millionaire. People are lining their pockets with millions of dollars everyday. Zimbabwe introduced a new higher denomination ZW$10 000 000 bank note which is equivalent to about £1 last Friday.
A loaf of bread costs ZW$2.5 million, one chicken will costs you ZW$25 million. Is this not madness, things have gone bananas.
What have the people done to deserve this? Since the introduction of the new higher denomination bank notes by the reserve bank on Friday last week the prices of most basic things have gone up. The country has got one of the highest inflation rates in the world, officially estimated at 25 000 percent or 150 000 percent according to independent financial institutions.
The higher denomination bank notes were meant to solve the cash crisis that the people have suffered from for a very long time. But this has only created more problems for the people. The introduction of the new notes has just brought more misery and more pain to the people of Zimbabwe.
All those salaries increments awarded to the people a few weeks back means nothing now. Even though the increment was never enough, I guess it was a relief to the long suffering people of Zimbabwe. However this has also brought more misery to the people. They move around with sacks full of millions of valueless Zimbabwean dollars.
Zimbabwe has been suffering from severe food shortages, fuel shortages and also many other basic necessities are always out of stock.
What have the people done to deserve this? In a country with so many educated people, a country with so many much talked about great leaders. So how could they be blind to all this suffering people are going through? Is it that they don't care about people anymore?
Now people seem not to be interested in things going on in the country, they have lost hope of things getting better in the country. No one seems to have a solution to the problems facing the country.
