The progressive 'dollarisation' of Zimbabwe has extended to rural areas, where dwellers now sell their fresh produce in U.S. dollars.Almost everyone in the country is now buying and selling in foreign currency, rendering the Zimbabwe dollar almost worthless on the domestic market.
Even bank queues that characterized the daily lives of people last year are disappearing, as more people turn to using either the South African rand or U.S. dollars.
The MDC MP for Mbare Piniel Denga told us villagers in Murehwa were selling maize cobs, tomatoes and their livestock in U.S. dollars. The MP was in the area on Sunday were he bought a small dish of five mangoes for US$1. He said three tomatoes cost US$1, and five fresh maize cobs also cost US$1.
'During the festive season I was in Chivhu where people were buying beer and other drinks in foreign currency. I must admit that the use of our local currency is fast dwindling and you hardly see anyone using it anymore. For instance if you use a kombi from Glen View to the city it now costs US$1 as well, so everything has been dollarised,' Denga said.
The Mbare legislator said Zimbabweans had been forced to abandon the local currency for the simple reason that the maximum money you are allowed to withdraw can only buy one small onion.
'Go to any bank now and you hardly see anyone inside. You see few people here and there but otherwise the days of the Zimbabwe dollar are nearing their end. This is not a secret, even the government knows that people have empowered themselves and abandoned their useless dollar. We are headed for interesting times,' the MP quipped.
It costs US$20,000 to buy a foreign currency licence, which legally allows businesses to trade in forex. But with the virtually total collapse of the economy most small business can barely generate enough income to pay their staff at the end of each month. The Reserve Bank's policies, courtesy of Gideon Gono, have created a nightmare for most of these small companies and for the majority of the population who have little access to forex.
With everything now being imported companies have to pay for their inputs in forex, but if they can't afford a forex licence they legally can't sell in foreign currency. So Gono's forex police do the rounds of the shops, impounding 'illegal' foreign currency from these shops. In other words state sponsored theft.
The dollarisation has extended to school tuition with private schools setting fees in US dollars, putting education out of reach of most.
Chisipite High School in Harare is charging US$1,200 per term, and was asking pupils to bring fuel coupons worth US$300 with them on their first day of the term as a deposit.
Roxer Academy primary in Harare is charging US$800 a term, while in Bulawayo the Masiyephambili Primary School is requiring a fee of US$650.
This almost guarantees that when schools open next week they will be virtually empty. Families will be unable to send their kids to school and teachers will have no money for transport.