New currency

Images of Operation Sunrise's advertising campaign here

From 1 August 2006, Zimbabwe has a new currency. The last three digits of the old currency have been lopped off to create the revalued dollar. The regime has dubbed this "Operation Sunrise", and we are serenaded with the slogans "Zero to Hero" and "Restore value".

This change has been necessitated by the effect of inflation on the Zimbabwe economy, where shopping was done in millions, if not billions, and large bundles of cash were needed for the simplest transactions.

Roadblocks manned by the Youth Militia (or so-called Green Bombers) have been set up to catch "unpatriotic" Zimbabweans who were carrying in excess of the legal limit of $100 million (old dollars). Banks have been instructed to seize sums deposited by individuals in excess of this amount, pending Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) investigation into the source of the funds.