Does any of this make sense to you?
It’s hard to describe the grind of daily life in Zimbabwe without baffling people with numbers, percentages and statistics that are so unreal they are uncomprehendible. The cash crises that has crippled us for years has been one of those undescribable things.
The last few months have been horrific.
This morning I once again saw red when I opened my month-end bank statement.
Yesterday I had a balance in my account of $2,000 (at old value that is 20 trillion dollars / $20,000,000,000,000.00). This account is dormant, untouched for months.
This morning I find I owe the bank $500,000 in service fees for one month’s bank charges to hold my $2,000. This is no joke.
The joke may be the $4 interest I received or the $0.80 cents withholding tax that I am paying, but my sense of humor is weak today and I cannot even laugh at that!
As I write this the parallel / black market rates are as follows USD1 = ZWD2500 and ZAR1 = ZWD360.
These rates will change within an hour.
The daily cash limit, per person per day is now a whopping (ha, ha) $20,000 (USD8, ZAR55.56).
The cost of a personal cheque book at today’s price (it will change by tomorrow) is $2,000,000 or $33,333 per page.
You pay $33,333 (USD13.33, ZAR92.59) to receive $20,000 (USD8, ZAR55.56).
Does this make sense to you?
And to get that $20,000?
A friend of mine got to the bank at 3am this morning and was handed a number – number 94 in line. At 5pm he finally got to the front of the queue. There is only one withdrawal allowed per customer so you cannot even take a friend’s card and work a tandem operation. Nope: it’s to the back of the line please for the second card transaction!
A company cheque book at today’s price is $11,000,000 (USD4.400, ZAR 30.550) or $110,000 per page. A company is restricted to a cash allowance of $10,000 per day (USD4, ZAR27.78), half that of an individual. A company pays $110,000 to receive $10,000
Does this make sense to you?
The other method of withdrawal is via ATM. Someone calculated that a minimum wage earner pays approx. 20% of his monthly wages in bank charges to withdraw cash.
Does this make sense to you?
To avoid lengthy delays in the banking systems and to ensure that a payment made via cheque is honored, the few companies that still take cheques request that payment be made using a bank issued / bank certified cheque. The cost of ONE CHEQUE has just risen from $52,000 to $700,000 (USD280, ZAR1944.44) overnight. This is just the fee that the bank charges to hand you ONE cheque.
You then pay for your purchase at cost price plus a premium on that cost anywhere in the region of 100% upwards. The maximum I have personally been quoted is 25,000% on the value of the purchase. Now add $700,000 to that in bank charges.
Does this make sense to you?
It was also calculated that a gold mine has to sell 2.5kg of gold (at the government price of course) to pay for one acetylene tank used for welding repairs in a workshop.
Does this make sense to you?
It makes me sick to witness perishable items in our stores rotting on the shelves as customers have no cash to buy it.
Shops are a cruel scene of food items (albeit scant) and starving people staring at them and unable to buy them. Yes, we are facing one of the worst famines in our country’s history. And yes, there is still food available in the towns, just no cash to buy it.
Does this make sense to you?
And the old boys think that they can continue to handle the ministry of finance.
Does this make sense to you?
I applaud the four individuals and their legal representatives who are standing up to this madness. The nation stands behind you and the world is watching!
Finally, something that makes sense!
October 2nd, 2008 10:20
Gideon Gono must be stripped of his position AND all his assets, his businesses and farms and houses and foreign bank accounts which he has accumulated through fraudulent banking practices against the whole nation. This is truly inhumane, despicable behavior. We have all the evidence we need for the court case!
October 2nd, 2008 10:42
There seem fewer and fewer letters and comments posted on Sokwnaele. A sign of extreme weariness, maybe?
I know for one I am, and so also must all the good people in Zim be.
Would I be even remotely correct in guessing that savage Mugabe is on the cusp of riding rough-shod over the newly democratically elected Government and President, on his way to absolute power again?
Who says good will prevail! Charisma and brutality in Africa count - not good governance.
October 2nd, 2008 12:53
I can’t believe this. I also heard yesterday that G Gono has made business dealing in forex legal provided companies pay a 50,000 US $ fee. Perhaps I have the facts wrong but they are all so bizarre it’s hard to make head or tail of it. With so few people earning salaries etc. Govt can’t be earning much on tax by legal means.
There are fewer comments. I wonder what readership is like. I bet the same people are still reading. It’s just you really do wonder what to do. What do Sokwanele think?
October 2nd, 2008 13:07
@tc and @Ants - I can reassure you that the same familiar people who have been reading for a while are still reading because I see them drift by whenever we update the blog.
General hits to the blog have however fallen since March and June, but this is natural to be expected. It’s because worldwide readers who come to the blog during times of high news interest generally don’t continue reading when the world media is focussing on things like the credit crunch and USA elections.
But those who comment on Zim and are interested in Zim are still here.
If Zim hits the international news in a big way again, we’ll see a lot of our worldwide occasional readers come back - it always happens that way.
Hope
October 2nd, 2008 15:10
Don’t be discouraged by any drop off in comments. I’m sure many people are like me - still following events closely but unclear what actions to take. I have the sense that power has shifted psychologically despite the current unsatisfactory and untenable situation. Surely this throws up new opportunities for targetted e-mail, phone and letter campaigns? Who are the mid-level people in the old regime who know the game is up and who should be hearing from the outside world? Sokwanele - we need some creative ideas from those who know the situation best…
October 2nd, 2008 15:12
@Sokwanele -
…that is, except you Hope, who really is inspiring living up to your Nom de plume “Hope”. Excellent site and as inspiring as it gets. Bob & his cronies, have the most incredible ability to wear people down.
October 2nd, 2008 20:05
Having just read the most recent posting via Metafilter and seen in the Guardian (UK) that Mugabe hasn’t given up his cloak and dagger manouveres (sic), I felt compelled to offer my sympathies at the bizarre yet sadly familiar turmoil you are all still dealing with in Zimbabwe. My condolences… life is hard enough without said Zanu PNF idiots meddling, profiteering and (it seems) brazenly publicising said efforts. Be strong, be confident. I wish that my government were forcefully on the side of the Zimbabwean people; it is small comfort but the English people are with you in spirit and solidarity.
Pat,
England
October 2nd, 2008 22:05
re falling readership:
contact the owner of zwnews.com — it is no longer updated, but has probably the largest readership of any Zimbabwe news site, and a substantial mailing list. A pity to let it go to waste. WOuld be a good place to syndicate all Zim blogs and news sites into one, boosting everyone’s readership.
October 3rd, 2008 22:33
On Monday I used my CABS swipe card in Spar to buy some garlic for $1,260. On my statement is a Zimswitch charge from Kingdom Bank of $8,066 for that transaction.
Does this make sense to you?!
October 5th, 2008 17:32
This puts the moans of us Brits about rising food prices and failing banks into context!
October 7th, 2008 13:56
Each of us is paying the price of living in Zimbabwe in countless ways. It’s difficult to wake up each morning and put one foot in front of the other and be enthused about going to work when all one can think about is where and how to get the basics. I earn a meagre salary paid in local money and for 4 months now, have not been able to draw cash from the ATM machine because they either have NO CASH, or NO ELECTRICITY or the bank hasn’t yet configured the machines to accommodate the new notes which are ever changing. Those who are employed cannot queue for the banking hall each day because of being late for work. No matter what percentage increase at work I am given, it is never enough to get me through the month. My standard of living has dropped so drastically! Dining at a restaurant, fresh flowers on the coffee table each week, various condiments for meals, a roast beef, pork, or chicken, fruit juice and bacon or fish for breakfast is only a dream. Snacks of cheese, savoury biscuits, gherkins and olives are also a ‘thing of the past’. Purchasing manure and mushroom compost to feed the garden is out of the question and servicing the car is put on hold until something major goes wrong with the vehicle and borrowing the money is the only option. No wonder there’s very little to laugh about any longer. The saddest thing is, that there are people FAR WORSE OFF than me!!
October 8th, 2008 14:24
We would be the laughingstock of the world if we weren’t so pathetic:
We have no money.
We have no food.
We have no free press.
We have no rights.
We have no clean water.
We have no education.
We have no health services.
We have no electricity.
We have no airlines.
We have lots of play money…wheelbarrows full.
We have lots of starvation.
We have the state run Herald and state run TV.
We have the courts (the ones grandpa Bob appointed).
We have cholera.
We have plenty of pupils…(just no teachers or books or paper or pencils).
We have plenty of sick and injured patients (but no doctors or medicines).
We have electric lights and televisions…just no electricity.
We have airplanes and airports (just no pilots).
THANKFULLY, for 30 years we’ve had grandpa Bob and ZANU-PF and we have “our sovereignty” and therefore it all makes perfect sense!