Commuters in quandary as Kombis reject ZW$20 notes

Some commuters in Harare were left in quandary this morning as commuter omnibuses (Kombis) woke up rejecting ZW$20 notes.

According to operators they are rejecting the said bank note because black market forex dealers are not accepting it.

One Kombi driver told Zwnews that they buy forex on the parallel market so once the black market forex traders reject the note, there is no point for Kombis to accept it.

“We buy fuel using US dollars which we obtain from the parallel market, so when they are rejecting the ZW$20 note, we are forced to do the same,” said the driver who requested not to be named.

A shopkeeper at one of the groceries stores at Munyuki Shopping centre in Epworth echoed the same sentiments saying they are not accepting ZW$20 bills.

Some people who spoke to this publication said Kombis began refusing to accept Zw$20 notes on Friday.

However, the government is on record saying no one should reject any of the country’s bank notes as they are legal tender.

The Zimdollar has been losing its purchasing power thereby performing badly against major convertible currencies.

Apparently, according to renowned world economist Steve Hanke, since January 2022, the Zimbabwean dollar has depreciated against the USD by 84.62 per cent.

Hanke, a professor at John Hopkins University says the Zimdollar is in 1st place on this week’s Hanke’s #CurrencyWatchlist.

He adds that to stop its economic death spiral, Zimbabwe must close the Reserve Bank, put it in a museum, and officially adopt the American dollar.

“Since Jan 2022, the Zimbabwean dollar has depreciated against the USD by 84.62%.

“Zim is in 1st place on this week’s Hanke’s #CurrencyWatchlist. To stop its economic death spiral, #Zimbabwe must mothball the Reserve Bank, put it in a museum, and officially adopt the USD,” he says.

Officially, the Zimdollar has continued to lose value against the US dollar, data released by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently revealed.

Zwnews