Traders shun new currencies

Traders and shoppers who spoke to The Zimbabwean said they were sceptical about the new currencies, especially the Chinese yuan and the Indian rupee.

Mohammad Ramijis said he has instructed his workers not to accept any of the new currencies until the issue of exchange rates was sorted out.

“I would rather deal with currencies I’m familiar with than currencies which I have never seen in my life. My colleague was last week given counterfeit Chinese yuan because he was not familiar with the currency’s security features,” said Ramijis, addibg that the government should have embarked on an extensive public awareness programme before introducing the currencies.

A manager with a leading grocery outlet in the city said the introduction of the new currencies had caused confusion and chaos in the retail sector.

“The major challenge we are facing with these currencies is exchange rates and security. We price our goods in US dollars and it is difficult to deal with these new currencies.

“Before the new currencies, we were already experiencing exchange rate nightmares with the rand and the Botswana pula. Now the confusion is even worse,” he said.

Last week, a Bulawayo teacher, Gift Machingambi, said he was refused entry to a bus to Harare when he tried to pay in yuan.

“I missed my appointment in Harare last week. I was forced to borrow US dollars from my colleagues to travel to Harare the following day.

“Government should do something to promote the public’s confidence in these currencies,” said Machingambi.