New Zim dollars worthless, informal traders shun new currency

Foreign currency dealers confirmed that travelers and other customers were holding on to their foreign currency than changing to useless Zimbabwean dollars with the hope that the traders would raise the exchange rate. Currently, the South African rand fetches at least Z$300 000 (about US$0.7).”Travelers are not keen to exchange their foreign currency to the Zimbabwean currency which constantly loses value,” said Hardy Mafema, a trader at the teeming Park Station terminus at the heart of Johannesburg. “Other customers are holding on to their money hoping t hat traders will raise the rate which took a knock during the festive season,” he said.The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently introduced higher denominations of the Zimbabwean bearer cheques in an attempt to alleviate the cash crisis currently bedeviling the Southern African nation.Investigations revealed that some customers were not aware of the security features of the new Z$250 000, Z$500 000 and Z$750 000, prompting them to hold on to their foreign currency.”The market is rife with counterfeit money, which makes changing to Zimbabwean dollars risky,” said Zimbabwe-bound Bekezela Dube-CAJ News.