Chaos in Zimbabwe

Eddie Cross reports:

Today I went from one meeting to another using the main streets in Harare - it was pure chaos. The City had no electricity, the traffic lights at all intersections were not working and the traffic was gridlocked. The Police were nowhere to be seen and even as we sat in the traffic a police car drove past - ramped the pavement and drove though the intersection paying no attention to what was going on around them.

At the Reserve Bank it was the same. They are printing money and creating money in other forms so fast that the inflation rate is no longer calculable. What we do know is that the RTGS rate - that is the rate at which foreign exchange is exchanged in the open market for money transferred by electronic means is moving by the hour. At the beginning of August it was 7 to 1 against the US dollar (after we dropped 9 zeros) and yesterday it was 2,000,000 to 1. Quite a change in 8 weeks! At this rate it will be no less than 10 million to one by next weekend.

Desperate people are queuing for days at the banks and other financial houses to try and get their money out of the system so that they can spend it before it literally melts to nothing. In Gweru last week the main street was almost closed by crowds at ATM's and banks. In Harare literally thousands of people jam every cash outlet.

(Thanks: JA.)