Well, at times I wonder what to do or who to listen to, and I wonder who is in charge.

Yesterday I was shocked to read from one of our local papers in Zimbabwe saying it is illegal to possess more than Zim$500m in cash (US$10). According to a new regulation published last month, anyone found with more than Zim$500m in cash will be guilty of “unlawful hoarding”.

Many schools and supermarkets do not want bills settled by cheque because of roaring inflation rates. In the five or so days cheques take to clear, traders stand to lose a significant amount of money. As I have noticed yesterday when I was phoning enquiring about the prices of bond paper, they are asking for cash payments and if it’s by cheque or transfers (RTGS) then the price will almost double.

The authorities want to encourage the use of cheques and cards. But power cuts mean it’s often impossible to settle bills by electronic transfer of funds, and not all ATMs are working.

I refer you to an excerpt from The Herald published and dated Tuesday 22, January 2008:

“People must be allowed to take all their money which is to their credit without hindrance or restrictions up to the limits stipulated. Arbitrary limits are unacceptable.”

So, where am I guilty of “unlawful hoarding”?

This entry was posted on March 7th, 2008 at 12:10 pm by Dennis Nyandoro and is filed under Shortages and Inflation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.