At nightfall, the sidewalks of Harare are loaded with potatoes, baby diapers or clothes, offered on makeshift stalls much cheaper than in convenience stores where hyperinflation is causing prices to explode.
“Everything is cheaper outside,” says Blessing Steven, a 23-year-old taxi driver, who buys juice on the side of the road. The vendor, Shingirirai Goriondo, acknowledges serving more customers than the supermarket he operates in front of.
“All the drinks I sell here are charged twice as much there,” he confirms, pointing to a Foodworld sign.
Zimbabwe has been plunged into a serious economic crisis for twenty years, marked by shortages of money and food. But the situation is getting even worse.
One US dollar was worth 1,000 Zimbabwean dollars on the black market just a week ago. It is now exchanged against 4,000 Zimbabwean dollars (against an official rate of 1,888).
Every morning, in stores, employees gallop behind inflation and change price tags, AFP journalists have noted. But only a few customers stroll through the shelves.
Many now prefer to shop on the street. Informal sellers, who do not have to pay rent or utilities, can afford to offer better prices.
Inflation, officially at 280% in April, is actually around 700% according to several economists, a few weeks before the legislative and presidential elections scheduled for August.
This dizzying whirlwind reminds Zimbabweans of the nightmare of 2008 when in restaurants, the amount of the bill increased between ordering and the end of the meal.
At the time, the Central Bank issued a hundred trillion dollar note, now a collector’s item, before the government was forced to abandon the local currency and adopt the US dollar.
The government revived the Zimbabwe dollar in 2019 but most distrustful Zimbabweans prefer to be paid in US dollars. Many local-currency workers rush to exchange shops on payday.
“The supermarket is too expensive with our change,” said Tarisai Bera, 36, who buys hygiene products from a street vendor. He receives half of his salary in US dollars.
The street trade intensifies at the end of the day because the sellers do not have a license and at night, the police are rare. “If we arrive early, we risk having our goods confiscated and fined,” said Julius Munyanyi, 46.
The government has tried to stabilize the economy, without success so far. The prime interest rate is currently 140%.
Ex-finance minister Tendai Biti, in opposition, accuses current incumbent Mthuli Ncube: “The Treasury, the natural guardian of the door, has become the one who breaks it down”, he tweeted recently, describing Mr Ncube as an “incompetent charlatan”.
The latter was touring convenience stores last weekend, indignant in front of the cameras that some managers only accept US dollars and asking them to remove the posters to this effect.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa pointed the finger at companies fond of US dollars which, according to him, release products on the black market in order to be able to sell them, through a “network” of intermediaries, in currencies other than the local currency.
Others, like economist Prosper Chitambara, think Mr Mnangagwa’s pre-election largesse carries a lot of weight. His decision to increase civil servants by 100% in March “obviously contributes to the liquidity of the Zimbabwean dollar”.
05/30/2023 08:13:42 – Harare (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
