Whereas….

From SW Radio Africa, 19 December: Cooking in queues as cash shortages worsen

By Lance Guma

Several families are leaving their homes armed with portable paraffin stoves to cook meals in the long snaking queues at the bank. The country is in the midst of a major cash crisis with the central bank failing to provide enough notes to meet demand. Pishai Muchauraya an opposition official in Manicaland said it’s now a common practice to see people cooking food to eat whilst queuing up to withdraw money. Teachers who work in rural areas and travel to the cities to get their money are some of the most affected groups. Banks are only allowing customers to withdraw Z$5 million per day whilst a trip for some could cost as much as Z$6 million…..

From Reuters, 20 December: No quick end seen to Zimbabwe cash

By Nelson Banya

Harare - Zimbabwe's move to introduce higher denomination banknotes to end cash shortages fall short of solving the crisis, analysts said on Thursday, as consumers besieged banks ahead of the Christmas holidays. The southern African country is facing an acute economic crisis blamed on President Robert Mugabe's policies, marked by the world's highest inflation and shortages of fuel and food. Official inflation is nearly 8,000 percent, although independent economists say the figure could be double that. In a televised address on Wednesday, Zimbabwe's central bank Governor Gideon Gono introduced higher value notes in Z$750,000 ($25 at the official exchange rate and $0.47 on the black market), Z$500,000 and Z$250,000 bills to help ease a cash crunch that has seen long queues at banks. Gono - who blames the shortage of banknotes on rampant black market trade - said the central bank would withdraw the Z$200,000 note, previously the highest note in circulation and mostly used by illegal foreign currency traders, with effect from Jan.1. Analysts said the new banknotes, the highest of which cannot buy a loaf of bread costing at least Z$800,000, were only a temporary solution. "It's just a temporary measure...the huge demand for cash will always be there as long as inflation remains high and there is more activity in the informal economy, as opposed to the formal sector," said Best Doroh, an economist at ZB Financial Holdings. "Short of dealing with that, any solution is going to be short-lived."….