Mugabe's Money
Ever wonder why Zimbabwe has such a high level of inflation (100,000%)?
The
Times Online has part of the story:
Planeloads of cash prop up Mugabe
Money that is being used to prop up President Robert Mugabe�s brutal regime, keep his military onside and win over voters in the run-up to Zimbabwe�s elections this month is being printed by a German company.
With inflation topping 100,000% and the highest value 10m Zimbabwe dollar note worth just 20p, heavily guarded planeloads of banknotes are flying into Harare almost every day to keep up with the demand.
Documents obtained by The Sunday Times show the Munich company Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is receiving more than �500,000 (�382,000) a week for delivering bank notes at the astonishing rate of Z$170 trillion a week.
�The regime is surviving by printing money,� said Martin Rupiya, professor of war and security studies at the University of Zimbabwe. �At this stage there is no other way.�
According to a source at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, G&D delivers 432,000 sheets of banknotes every week to Fidelity printers in Harare, where they are stamped with the denomination. Each sheet contains 40 notes and the current production is entirely in Z$10m notes.
Zimbabwe didn't have this problem before Mugabe. He needs to go away now for the sake of the nation and its people...
Posted by DaveH at March 2, 2008 3:04 PM