UK based money transfer companies were on Tuesday trading the Zimbabwe dollar at $780 to the British pound on the parallel market, when just four days before the rate was Z$210 to £1.
Even the Central Statistical Office has had to admit to the seriousness of the crisis. In the Herald on Tuesday they said the official inflation figure in June was more than 11 million percent, up from May’s 2.2 million percent.
It is completely unknown what the true figure is as it has become impossible to gauge. Leading Zimbabwean bank Kingdom, said inflation now exceeds 20 million percent, while economist John Robertson told AFP news agency the June figure could be as high as 40 million percent. “The actual figure for July could be as high as 300 million percent, while for August it could be 600 million percent,” he added.
With the economy in freefall, more than four million people face starvation as the government deliberately blocks aid agencies from distributing much needed food.
Once again Zimbabwe meets its tragic target for the highest inflation in the world and the world’s fastest shrinking economy, for a country not at war.
SWRadion Africa