Opinion / Columnist
Making things simple
19 May 2019 at 16:20hrs | Views
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has a droll sense of humour. He says he decided to name Zimbabwe's latest local currency the RTGS dollar so as not to confuse the public!
Of course, even those in remote rural areas know that RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement dollars and simply love this method of payment using electronic money transfer systems.
Mr Ncube's new solution is not to be confused with the other local currency, the tired and discredited bond notes and coins. But the joke is on the people because everyone knows these two depreciating local currencies are just false creations and nothing like the almost unobtainable grubby old US dollars with which they were supposed to be equivalent.
But it is not a laughing matter, as the Americans recognize with their warning of rising crime and civil unrest in Zimbabwe as abject poverty drives people to desperation.
The general manager of Zimbabwe Pensions and Insurance Rights Trust, Martin Tarusenga, says people are losing billions of dollars as these alternative currencies lose value. In a coruscating article in the Zimbabwe Independent, he says life in Zimbabwe has reached new lows.
There is no shortage of pungent academic analysis of Zimbabwe's government failures. In an article in The Zimbabwean, Tamuka Chirimambowa of the University of Johannesburg says the government's 'open for business' mantra lacks policy and administrative action to make it a reality and turn around the fortunes of the country.
On a lighter note we turn to a headline in Zimeye: 'Axe-wielding VP welcomes Chinese', a reference to Vice President Mohadi who recently threatened his wife with an axe. Some welcome!
Of course, even those in remote rural areas know that RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement dollars and simply love this method of payment using electronic money transfer systems.
Mr Ncube's new solution is not to be confused with the other local currency, the tired and discredited bond notes and coins. But the joke is on the people because everyone knows these two depreciating local currencies are just false creations and nothing like the almost unobtainable grubby old US dollars with which they were supposed to be equivalent.
But it is not a laughing matter, as the Americans recognize with their warning of rising crime and civil unrest in Zimbabwe as abject poverty drives people to desperation.
The general manager of Zimbabwe Pensions and Insurance Rights Trust, Martin Tarusenga, says people are losing billions of dollars as these alternative currencies lose value. In a coruscating article in the Zimbabwe Independent, he says life in Zimbabwe has reached new lows.
There is no shortage of pungent academic analysis of Zimbabwe's government failures. In an article in The Zimbabwean, Tamuka Chirimambowa of the University of Johannesburg says the government's 'open for business' mantra lacks policy and administrative action to make it a reality and turn around the fortunes of the country.
On a lighter note we turn to a headline in Zimeye: 'Axe-wielding VP welcomes Chinese', a reference to Vice President Mohadi who recently threatened his wife with an axe. Some welcome!
Source - ZimVigil
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