An IMF official predicts inflation in Zimbabwe will rise 4,200% next year. It is running at about 1,200% today. The official exchange rate vs the US Dollar is 250 (ZBD) to 1 (USD). This afternoon on foreign currency markets 1 US Dollar = 260,230 Zimbabwe dollars, or if you prefer, 1 Zim dollar is worth 0.00000384 $US.
The first time I was in Zimbabwe in 1991, 1 US Dollar was worth about 6 Zimbabwe dollars. The last time was in 1997, when 1 (USD) was worth 12 (ZBD). The situation is made even more catastrophic when the government recalls its old currency and issues new notes.There were no banknotes above $20 in the early 1990s. Lord knows what they do with their coins, now.
People can endure a great deal, but the burden on Zimbabwe is crushing. There are about 13,000,000 Zimbabweans and the population is growing by just 0.83% because of AIDS. In 2003 the life expectancy for men was just 40, but this was two years longer than for women. The estimated GDP in 2003 was $3.6 billion US. That is just $600 million more than was just pledged by the owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways to fight global warming.
There are numerous reasons for the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy, a perfect storm with domestic and international causes with colonial antecedents, yet the lion's share of responsibility must fall to the thoroughly despotic Mugabe regime, which has presided over this collapse since the country's Independence in 1980. It is utterly tragic, and just when it seems things cannot get worse, they do. Bread prices have increased to between $350-400 (ZBD), if you can get it. Petrol sells for $700 (ZBD/liter). Cheap if you are exchanging US dollars, but crippling if you are paid in the local currency.
"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold." - Chinua Achebe
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