Fuelling an economy in ruins

JOHANNESBURG – THE extent of Zimbabwe’s financial crisis has been illustrated by the release of a $Z50,000 note that is hardly worth the paper on which it is printed.

The move is part of President Robert Mugabe’s bid to keep up with runaway inflation. But the word on the street is to spend it quickly. As the Zimbabwe dollar has been notoriously prone to counterfeit, the $Z50,000 note

In fact, a use-by-date is hardly necessary with the Reserve Bank Governor warning inflation will soon nudge 800 per cent.

Upon issue, the new note only carried the purchasing power of a loaf of bread, a kilogram of the staple maize meal or about three eggs