Robbing the needy
An angry friend told me about a herdsman he knew who lived in a rural area about 100 kms north of Bulawayo. This guy had made up his mind that he had to sell off most of his cattle as the grass was getting short, the cattle were beginning to lose condition, and the rains were some months away.
He herded them all the way to the Sale Pens and managed to sell them for a fairly good price.
He then caught a lift back to his village but on the way back, they were stopped at a police roadblock. The officers were searching for cash, “The old money”. The herdsman showed the police what he had earned at the cattle sale, some 400 million dollars (about 400 Pounds Sterling). They pocketed (no receipt) three hundred million and gave him back the balance as he had violated new laws that prohibits members of the public from carrying more than 100 million as the country switches over to the new currency.
More sinister is that the government is attempting to crush the parallel market through which a large proportion of the population makes a living.
It is this currency, which cannot be obtained through the banks, that provides much needed Rand and US Dollars for industry to survive. Ironically, the money comes from the very people who have been forced into economic and political exile, one in every four Zimbabweans!
August 28th, 2006 18:10
The tragedy continues. Just how much worse can it get? Thank you for continuing to give us glimpses of what is going on in your country. Take care …