Is the new Zimbabwe dollar bringing back the economic tragedies of 2008 to remind Zimbabweans of some of their worst times?<\/p>\n
A pizza from a popular family restaurant in Harare now costs 252 new Zimbabwe dollars. That\u2019s more than half what some government teachers earn per month. Hang on: haven\u2019t we heard that before?<\/p>\n
Rewind 11 years, to Zimbabwe in 2008. Wads of worthless money, perpetual school closures because teachers were on strike \u2014 and prices (where goods were still available) in millions and billions of Zimbabwe dollars. Little wonder then that locals are asking: is that horrible time coming back to haunt Zimbabwe?<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s surprise announcement that the Zimbabwe dollar was to make an immediate comeback and the US dollar would no longer be permitted for local purchases, sent prices in some places spiralling \u2014 and not just for pizzas.<\/p>\n
Firewood? From 35 dollars to 50 dollars a stack (50 dollars would have been worth around R700 last year. Now it\u2019s worth around R88). Hot chocolate powder? Sixteen Zimbabwe dollars to 39. Candles? Oh they\u2019ve disappeared (but there\u2019s been a run on them because of the endless power cuts).<\/p>\n
We haven\u2019t reached 2008 levels yet when a tin of baked beans cost 30 billion Zimbabwe dollars. At one point, a loaf of bread was 10 million. Bread there is still around 10 Zimbabwe dollars. But it\u2019s getting harder to find bread.
\nThose on fixed salaries are suffering.<\/p>\n
Raymond Majongwe, the head of the Progressive Teachers Union, tweeted a picture of the menu at St Elmo\u2019s Restaurant in Harare, with its latest prices displayed in Zim dollars. A large Napoletana pizza (at 252 dollars), ordered with a Greek salad ($135) would pretty much cost a teacher his or her entire monthly salary.<\/p>\n
Is there ANY hope?<\/p>\n
The authorities have hiked interest rates in what they say is a bid to constrain money supply. In 2008, the opposite happened. Back then, the printing presses went into overdrive and bearer cheques, a precursor of today\u2019s bond notes, rolled out in ever-increasing denominations.<\/p>\n
This time around the authorities promise they\u2019ll be disciplined. On Monday, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube assured Parliament\u2019s budget and finance committee that \u201cthis is not 2008\u201d. He said that year was marked by fiscal indiscipline. \u201cNow we have fiscal discipline. The policies are far different.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is, however, that ominous announcement of 400 million Zimbabwe dollars that are about to be printed. If \u2014 and no-one seems to have a clear answer on this \u2014 that\u2019s extra cash on top of Zimbabwe\u2019s already-circulating electronic money, that won\u2019t go down well.<\/p>\n
In my wallet, I keep a receipt from 2008. It\u2019s for 250 billion dollars\u2019 worth of pet food bought from my local branch of the SPCA. For me, it\u2019s a reminder of the hyperinflation we lived through. And that is something Zimbabweans never want to live through again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Is the new Zimbabwe dollar bringing back the economic tragedies of 2008 to remind Zimbabweans of some of their worst times? A pizza from a popular family restaurant in Harare now costs 252 new Zimbabwe dollars. That\u2019s more than half what some government teachers earn per month. Hang on: haven\u2019t we heard that before? Rewind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":11016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[249,83,234,251],"class_list":{"0":"post-11013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-files","9":"tag-currency","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-salaries","12":"tag-us-dollar"},"yoast_head":"\n