Zimbabwe�s multi-currency confusion

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Once known for its billion dollar notes and hyper-inflation, Zimbabwe must be the only place in the world to have eight currencies as legal tender - none of them its own.

For the last five years most people have been using US dollars or South African rand, but pula from Botswana and British pound sterling have also been changing hands.

Now the central bank is also allowing the use of Australian dollars, Chinese yuan, Indian rupees and Japanese yen.

Editor's Comment
Botswana at a critical juncture

While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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