But he added that purely from a conceptual perspective, the people of
Zimbabwe could do with any help they could get and SA was more than
prepared to try and help where possible. But he indicated that it
wouldn’t be so easy for the rand to become legal tender there. He said
this would be difficult as there would have to be a reserve rand held
for every rand that circulates. He felt the Zimbabwean economy needed
to undergo "substantial transformation" and become productive again. He
noted that he had heard stories of rands already circulating in
Zimbabwe illegally – something which also occurred in other countries
like Angola. As far as this went, he said it might show some indication
of what ordinary people wanted. He did raise concerns about reported
news of civil servants in Zimbabwe being paid in US dollars. He said
this was a problem as it meant all workers would want to get paid in
dollars and the portents would then not be good for the Zimbabwean
dollar itself. He said he hoped dollar reserves would be sufficient for
this.
From The Times (UK)