Between booking our flights and landing in Harare, Zimbabwe’s official exchange rate changed from US$1 equalling one “electronic” dollar to US$1 buying 2.50 electronic dollars. From discussions with companies’ management and our colleagues at Old Mutual Zimbabwe, very little currency is actually clearing at the new rate. This is to be expected as both the parallel rates on the street and Old Mutual’s “implied” rates are well north of 2.50 electronic dollars. This is effectively being done through issuing electronic money to pay public sector workers and suppliers. The electronic money has the very cumbersome name of real-time gross settlement (RTGS) dollars.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 01, 2019 11:03 UTC