Four weeks after Zimbabwe introduced a range of measures aimed at ending an unprecedented shortage of local bank notes, the situation has not improved, banking officials said on Monday.
Queues at bank counters and cash machines grew even longer as workers tried to cash their pay cheques to pay monthly bills.
”The cash situation is still the same, it’s still in short supply,” said one cashier inside a banking hall crowded with restive clients.
”We have even reduced our maximum allowance today to enable everyone to get something from the little cash we have,” he said.
Zimbabwe is in its fourth month of a local cash crunch attributed to hyperinflationary conditions, a growing foreign exchange parallel market and lack of confidence in the system that have led to higher demand for cash and hoarding.
The government has imposed a series of measures in a desperate bid to help ease the shortage.
On July 29 the government tried to persuade individuals and retailers to deposit cash with banks when it announced that it would phase out the current 500 Zimbabwean dollar note in circulation by end of September and replace it with a new one of similar value.
A week later, it introduced local travellers’ cheques as legal tender, hoping to ease the cash crisis that has gripped the southern African country since April.
But the travellers’ cheques faced resistance because of their inflexibility, according to banking officials.
On Sunday a new law banning the holding of more than five-million Zimbabwean dollars (US$6 250) in local bank notes by institutions and individuals came into effect.
But there has not been any marked improvement in the cash crisis.
For above-average earners who can operate a chequing account, the cash shortages have forced them to turn to using their cards and cheques — which takes longer than cash transactions.
But the lower-earning majority without chequing accounts are forced to rely on cash for their daily transactions. They are the majority found in cash queues.
”It looks as if we are at a political rally,” quipped a woman who had been queueing at a cash machine since 6am on Monday. By midday no cash had been dispensed because the bank was waiting for cash deposits to feed notes into the machine.
Every street corner where there is a banking hall or a cash machine was crowded with visibly tired people.
”I have been coming here every day since last week. My landlord wants his rent and he will not take anything but cash,” said Anthony Phiri, a factory worker.
Banks are restricting the amount of cash that a client can withdraw in a day, and by Monday some banks had again slashed the maximum limit of 10 000 Zimbabwean dollars (US$12 50) by half.
A loaf of bread costs about 1 000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$1,25) while a kilogramme of meat sells for about 5 000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$6 25). – Sapa-AFP