Zimbabwe’s Multiple Currency Confusion, Gives Change In Sweets Or Condoms!

President Mugabe Of Zimbabwe

Once known for its billion-dollar notes and hyper-inflation, Zimbabwe must be the only place in the world to have eight currencies as legal tender - none of them its own. For the last five years, most people have been using US dollars or South African rand, but pula from Botswana and British pound sterling have also been changing hands. Now the central bank is also allowing the use of Australian dollars, Chinese yuan, Indian rupees and Japanese yen.

For the moment, customers can open bank accounts in these currencies but the hard cash is not yet in circulation. "I definitely think there is going to be confusion being caused by so many currencies - for a cashier to be handling so many currencies at the same time," says Denford Mutashu, General Manager of Food World, a nationwide supermarket chain. Currently most shops in the capital, Harare, mark prices in US dollars. The rand is more commonly used in Bulawayo, closer to the South African border - and cashiers check daily exchange rate for conversions.

Acting Central Bank Governor Charity Dhliwayo says she hopes the move will bring in more cash, as a liquidity crisis has meant some banks have stopped lending, making imports difficult. But there is concern that with more currencies, transactions could become more tedious, leading to long queues at the till. "We wait to see how this will shape up. Shoppers want quicker, easier transactions, not to be bogged down negotiating currencies when you are racing against time to get public transport home or to work," admits Mutashu. "People don't have time to waste any more. We will have to find ways to expedite the transactions."

The central bank said that over Christmas, when there was a severe shortage of cash, there was also a surge in counterfeit currency. Given the complexities of the multiple currency system, there are now fears that forgery will be easier with unfamiliar notes. However, it may mean that small change, which has long been scarce, will become available in shops.

Zimbabwe's liquidity crisis means shopkeepers and market traders often give change in sweets, airtime for mobile phones and even condoms.