New currency already 'working overtime'

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MUSINA - The Zimbabwe-bound bus has not quite completely stopped at South Africa's Musina town but this is little deterrence to the young man, who calmly hops on board with gravity-defying agility that could only have been acquired through many years of experience.
On board the young man - who later only identifies himself as Mgomeni - wastes little time, waving a bundle of Zimbabwe's freshly minted new currency in one hand and an equally tempting bundle of South Africa's rand currency, he begins chanting.
"The rate is so good. For R100 you get Z$8 000. Change your foreign currency here good people, because we offer a better rate than osphatheleni back home," shouts Mgomeni, in a beseeching tone as he worms his way down the bus aisle.
Osphatheleni are illegal foreign currency dealers operating from Bulawayo's World Bank, an area in the city centre so named because it is the hub of the illegal but thriving foreign currency parallel market.
"They (osphateleni) are cheats they lure you with higher returns for foreign currency but will pay you in fake Zimbabwe dollars," he says in a bid to convince passengers why it makes sense to do business with him.
Soon, five more illegal foreign currency traders are on the bus, each after having paid 50-rand bribe to the driver to be allowed to "trade" on the bus. In the same energetic way as Mgomeni before them, the new traders are also soliciting for business from the travellers.
"Lisiphatheleni makhiwa," a middle-aged Joseph Nkomo pleads with travellers as he brandishes crisp Zimbabwe dollar bills.
Lisiphatheleni makhiwa is Zimbabwe's vernacular Ndebele language and loosely translated means: what goodies have you brought us people? But in this case the only goodies Nkomo inquires about are rands, United States dollars, Botswana pulas or whatever foreign currency is available.
If only Dr Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), was here! The tough-talking central bank chief would have seen for himself what a battle he has on his hands trying to smash Zimbabwe's foreign currency black-market as well as stopping local money being siphoned to neighbouring countries where Mgomeni and others use it to buy forex.
Analysts and business leaders say Gono's currency reforms could in the interim help curb money supply growth but will eventually be a flop unless wider economic and political reforms are implemented to stimulate economic production.
In a chillingly frank assessment of the currency reforms, Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa, who apparently does not see eye-to-eye with Gono, last Monday told a parliamentary committee that the three zeroes lopped off every banknote were likely to be back by December unless measures were taken to improve economic output.
Gono shot back at Murerwa, telling journalists in Harare four days later that the RBZ was determined to see its currency reforms succeeding and that the zeroes removed from the currency would not be allowed back.
But take a ride on any one of the luxury coaches or the dirty ramshackle buses that ply the Harare/Johannesburg or Bulawayo/Johannesburg route and you cannot avoid the feeling that Gono's reforms are surely headed for failure.
Well, the RBZ governor, who on Monday was not available for comment, will probably be able to keep more zeroes off Zimbabwe's currency as he has promised.
But without doubt he has already failed to stop money being siphoned to neighbouring countries to finance the foreign currency black-market.
Musina is awash with the new Zimbabwe currency! And reports from the Botswana city of Francistown closer to the border with Zimbabwe, or Livingstone town on the country's border with Zambia all say the new Zimbabwe bearer cheques are more than readily available there.
Ask Mgomeni, first, where he got the new currency which is actually in short supply in Zimbabwe? Secondly, how did he manage to smuggle the money across the border, where teams from the police, secret service agents and the RBZ are deployed to prevent cash leaving the country?
With a complacent smile that seems to suggest that its all kindergarten stuff we are asking him about, Mgomeni replies: "The ordinary forex dealer you see is not his or her own employer.
"There is always a big and powerful hand behind. For example, our team works for a very senior government official. He was able to repatriate back to Zimbabwe the old money we had here in Musina. He then organised the new currency and cleared the way for us to shift it over the border in broad daylight ....it was actually so easy."
It has always been suspected that top officials of President Robert Mugabe's government and ruling Zanu (PF) party use their clout to access foreign currency and other basic commodities in short supply which they later resell on the black-market at huge profit. - ZimOnline