/ 11 June 2001

TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS A TRICK

ZIMBABWE prostitutes are now demanding that their clients pay in US dollars in preference to the local currency, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday. The paper said prostitutes in the city centre were charging tourists $200 a night, as the country suffers its worst economic crisis since it achieved independence from Britain in 1980. The prostitutes only accept local dollars when business is low, the paper added. Zimbabwe has held its exchange rate at 55 Zimbabwean dollars to the greenback since October last year, while the black market rates have soared to as much as 150 to one. – AFP