Zimbabwe: shops stop accepting local currency, or how the State destroyed a people...

While millions of Zimbabweans are already going hungry, the move by supermarket owners, who have few goods available for customers to buy, has added to the hardship experienced by the urban population.

Most do not have access to foreign currency, such as US dollars or the South African rand, now demanded by shopkeepers for payment.

A sign outside a supermarket in Harare's wealthy northern suburbs informed the public on Sunday that, like many other shops, it would not accept cheques or debit cards, because they take too long to clear while the Zimbabwe dollar plunges hourly.

Weeping with frustration, a well-dressed woman fled the shop in tears as she was left unable to buy anything, despite having amassed Z$14 billion for her weekly shop. But even cash was useless, and the shop manager told her he was only accepting US dollars. More...

See also:

1. Zimbabwe: the sad demise of a nation...
2. Kristen Ashburn and AIDS in Zimbabwe...
3. Zimbabwe is dying...
4. Zimbabwe: children eating toxic roots, rats...