http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/zimbabweans-sleep-banks-cash-crisis-worsens-161111191648232.html
Zimbabwe has run out of US Dollar reserves 8 years after officially adopting the currency, following a period of record hyper inflation (in mid-December 2008 the inflation rate stood at 79,600,000,000%). As a result, some banks have been forced to introduce daily withdrawal limits of $50. Consequently, long queues outside banks have become the norm, with hundreds of Zimbabweans sleeping on cardboard boxes to keep their place in line. A few months ago, the government announced plans to introduce bond notes to deal with the cash crisis. However, Zimbabweans have fiercely protested the proposed programme, arguing that the country would see a repeat of the uncontrollable hyperinflation of 2008, during which time the daily inflation rate averaged 98.0%, and prices doubled every 24.7 hours on average.
The introduction of bond notes in the country (backed by a US$200 million loan from Afreximbank) may help to ease the monetary situation for many Zimbabweans for a short while. It would ease the burden on banks to cater to its clients. However, if the government overprints bond notes, the 'currency' would begin to decrease in value and inflation would surely follow. This is not outside of the realm of possibilities, as the same thing happened in 2008 during the country's liquidity crisis.
This situation is so concerning to me, begin it's terrible to see how my people are suffering right now. People sleep on the side of the street not only to wait for money outside banks, but also because they don't even have the 50 cents required for public transport to return to their homes. It's such an unfair situation, because it could have been avoided. Zimbabwe has abundant natural resources and arable land, yet its people continue to struggle just to put food on the table. I look forward to the day this won't be the case.
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