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NES Member
Zimbabwe Down To Their Last $217
In a thread posted by Zappa here.
The economic meltdown started in 2000 and continues today. See wiki here for details.
In a thread posted by Zappa here.
After paying public workers’ salaries last week, the balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe’s government public account stood at just $217, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Tuesday.
“Last week when we paid civil servants there was $217 (left) in government coffers,” Biti told journalists in the capital Harare, claiming some of them had healthier bank balances than the state.
“The government finances are in paralysis state at the present moment. We are failing to meet our targets.”
Zimbabwe’s economy went into free-fall at the turn of the millennium, after President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms.
The move demolished investor confidence in the country, paralysed production, prompted international sanctions and scared off tourists.
After more than a decade — in which the country suffered hyper-inflation of 231 million percent and infrastructure that crumbled as quickly as prices went up — the situation is now more stable.
But public finances remain a mess and local business battles against unstable electricity supplies, lack of liquidity and high labour costs.
Zimbabwe’s government has warned it does not have enough money to fund a constitutional referendum and elections expected this year.
Biti said that left no choice but to ask the donors for cash.
“We will be approaching the international community,” he said.
The economic meltdown started in 2000 and continues today. See wiki here for details.
- Hyperinflation: 231 million%
- Energy: Crumbling infrastructure. Supply is 940MW; Demand is 2500MW.
- Telephone: New land lines are impossible to get. Cells still work.
- Agriculture: White minority farms were nationalized in 2000. Agricultural marketing system collapsed.
- Mining: Requirement for local ownership implemented. Mining stocks and production falter.
- Education: Teachers leave country after 2000. Literacy rate falls.
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