This week Mozambique scrapped visa requirement for Zimbabweans, unleashing what appeared to be raid on shops for food staples to be sold back home in Zimbabwe.
A 25 kilo bag of Pakistani rice was on offer this week in Harare’s western suburb, Mbare for Z$25m, twice the monthly salary of a teacher.
Just across the border from Mutare, a trading post has sprung up in a wasteland known as Pamimango, or “the place of the mango trees.” The nearest town, Manica, lies 18 kilometers inside the border. While Mozambique is among the world’s poorest countries, its currency is table and official inflation is close to single digits.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence with inflation standing at nearly 8 000 percent – the highest in the world.
Mozambique is closer to Harare than South Africa, Zambia and Botswana which are the usual destinations for Zimbabweans shopping for food and other essentials.
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