Zimbabwe – when a run on the bank is a good thing
It will be a tense day in Harare today as members of the ZCTU and other Zimbabwean civil society organisations assemble symbolically outside their banks to protest at the management of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under governor Gideon Gono.
The Bank is limiting cash withdrawals to $500,000 a week, though under mounting civil pressure has agreed to increase this to $100,000,000. This staggering amount (even after the country already devalued the dollar by 10 zeros back in June this year) is still not enough to buy a week’s worth of food and medicines (at the time of a serious outbreak of Cholera), and amounts to the Bank in effect appropriating ordinary people’s own money, leaving them unable to spend what savings they have whilst they’re still worth something.
The ZCTU wants withdrawal limits removed entirely, so people can use their money to buy the goods their families need. In a country with hyperinflation, whatever limit the Bank sets will need to be revised daily, so Gono’s 100 million offer will look as pathetic as the current 500,000 in just a few weeks.
The other main point of disagreement is over foreign currency exchange in the country. Many businesses have been licensed to buy and sell in more stable US dollars, but this creates a problem for ordinary people who don’t have access to foreign currency – meaning many supplies in the overstretched country are now only reserved for the rich, as most workers’ wages plummet day by day whilst those using US dollars are able to retain their money. The ZCTU wants to see consistency from the Bank – either all workers paid in US dollars, or special licenses to use foreign currency withdrawn, so everyone goes back to the same local currency playing field.
There are already signs that Zanu-PF are not willing to let this protest take place, with warnings that the military and police will be mobilised, and opposition being voiced by a Zanu-PF front alternative union federation run by Mugabe’s war veterans. When ZCTU workers and their supporters gather at banks today to symbolically demand their money, they must be fearing a severe crackdown.
You can add your voice of support to the action at the Action for Southern Africa website, by emailing Gideon Gono at the RBZ – one of the few Government branches not to have closed off its email in the face of worldwide protest messages.
This is a doubly brave move for ZCTU leaders Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo, who already are remanded on a case against them at the Supreme Court this Friday (and you can also support them at wearezctu.org).
UPDATE: Dozens of arrests and beatings after riot police violently broke up the demonstrations in several locations, though not before many union petitions were handed in to offices of the RBZ. Wellington Chibebe is among the detainees, as are many other union leaders. Updated headlines from LabourStart can be found here.
Tags: Forex, Gideon Gono, RBZ, ZCTU, Zimbabwe
