Opinion / Columnist
The final nail in Zimbabwe's coffin
27 Nov 2016 at 16:34hrs | Views
Despite the government's last-minute hesitation, the Reserve Bank has announced that it is to release its monopoly money on Monday - widely seen as the final nail in the coffin of the Zimbabwean economy.
Human rights lawyer Irene Petras said that the authorities have 'illegally, immorally and inhumanely set about destroying Zimbabwean lives for a second time' - a reference to the hyperinflation era which ended with the abandonment of the Zimbabwean currency in 2009.
The Reserve Bank says $10 million of bond notes in denominations of $2 and $5 are to be issued, along with $2 million worth of $1 dollar bond coins. But few believe it will stop there. The currency is said to be backed by the African Import and Export Bank, which has not itself confirmed this.
Because Zimbabweans have lived through this asset stripping before, they know exactly what to expect. Savings will be wiped out by rapidly depreciating Mickey Mouse money for the benefit of the elite which will externalise all remaining US dollars in the country.
The move is likely to be badly received by the army. Reuters news agency says it has seen a report by the Central Intelligence Organisation warning Mugabe that introduction of bond notes would cause his downfall.
There has been widespread unrest at the move although the promised 'mother of all demonstrations' against bond notes last week failed to gain support amid allegations that money collected for the Harare protest was misappropriated. It is reported that this prompted Tajamuka to pull out of the demonstration at the last moment.
Zimbabwe People First spokesman Jealousy Mawarire said as much as $100,000 may have been involved. He said: 'As long as the struggle is commercialised we will always have these solo sporadic selfie moments disguised as demos'. Others talk of activists 'milking donor funds' and 'living large'.
The accusations come as no surprise to us. We ourselves refuse to have anything to do with one of the protest leaders because of our own experience working with him. This person certainly fits the bill of being a 'selfie activist': always in the photograph, in the news, known to all the journalists, ready with a quote.
We at the Vigil marvel at how he seems to have a 'get out if jail free' card. With no visible means of support, he nevertheless pops up regularly in the UK, always impeccably dressed, hustling for money. The social media protest movements need to beware the bad apple effect.
Source - ZimVigil
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