Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week 48
Meltdown continues at a rapid pace and the general money situation, largely attributed to Reserve Bank restrictions, continues to raise the stakes and tempers flare.
The Governor has expelled 4 more banks under dubious allegations and has suggested that they in fact are responsible for the crisis and not him and RBZ as generally understood.
The Zim Dollar is retreating as a currency, and both the Rand and US Dollar are freely traded, particularly in retail business. This dollarisation has been borne out of sheer necessity but isolates and alienates portions of the business community that has no access to foreign exchange.
The rate of inflation is now almost incalculable as there is literally a free-fall, each one for himself, scramble for survival. The irony is that more and more goods are being imported with scarce hard currency, putting the local manufacturer out of business.
Real salary and wage levels continue to diminish as the Zimbabwe inflation disease has now gripped goods and services provided on a forex-based price.
Punitive measures by the RBZ have impacted most negatively on the stock exchange, and share exchange activity has been vastly reduced resulting in a dramatic drop in Government revenue. The OMIR stands at 14.8 quadrillion despite this and the Zim Dollar can be traded for up to 40 quadrillion to 1.
