SubscribeZimbabwe Throws in the Towel on Worthless Currency
Zimbabwe’s new coalition Government has decided to withdraw the country’s worthless currency from circulation for at least a year and rely exclusively on other hard currencies.
Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma has been quoted in the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper as saying the Zimbabwe dollar, whose value was sent crashing by an official policy of the former regime of President Robert Mugabe to print huge volumes of cash to keep up with state spending, ”will be out at least for a year”.
”We resolved there will be no immediate plans to introduce the money because there is nothing to support its value,” he said.
In late January, when it took 20trillion Zimbabwe dollars to equal $US1 ($A1.41), the Government adopted international hard currencies, mostly the United States dollar and the South African rand, as legal tender alongside the local currency.
Inflation running into percentage points with 15 zeroes had made trade in Zimbabwe dollars impossible and business was already conducted predominantly in hard currencies, albeit technically illegal.
”Our focus is to ensure that we first have a vibrant industry,” Mr Mangoma said.
My comment: Are you listening Mr. Bernanke? You cannnot print prosperity.
John Polomny
The Real Deal
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