Sunday, July 31, 2011
Making change for simple transactions has become so difficult for merchants in Zimbabwe that the government has reached out to the United States for help. With insufficient currency available, Zimbabwe has agreed to import coins from the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC.
An Air Zimbabwe flight will be chartered sometime this year to pick up the coins in the U.S.
Zimbabwe has been using U.S. currency since 2009, after hyperinflation made a mess of the developing country’s economy.
The American coins are expected to be in circulation soon, ending the practice of retailers offering consumers credit notes, tokens and even sweets to settle small change.
The U.S. government has not yet commented publically on the deal. Zimbabwe has been ruled for more than 30 years by Robert Mugabe, one of the world’s worst dictators.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
US Dollar Coins Likely to Be Unveiled in Zimbabwe Before End of the Year (by Nare Msupatsila, Bulawayo24 News)
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