Zimbabwe Introduces $500 Billion Note

Zimbabwe has introduced a new half-a-billion dollar bank note in a bid to tackle cash shortages fed by rampant inflation, the central bank said on Thursday.
"Introducing the new 500,000,000 bearer cheque for your convenience," read a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe full-page advert in the state daily, The Herald, displaying specimens of the new note.

The note, comes into circulation 10 days after the introduction of a quarter-of-a-billion one early this month.

This is the fourth set of high denomination notes to be issued this year, the first being in January when a 10 million dollar note was put into circulation. The next was on April 2 when a 50 million dollar note came into being before the 100 and 250 million dollar notes were introduced on May 2.

The southern African nation, currently gripped by a post-election crisis, has been ravaged by hyperinflation which reached 165,000 percent in February. No latest inflation figures have been released since then.

The country's chronic economic crisis has condemned millions to grinding poverty with at least 80 percent of the population living below the poverty threshold amid mass shortages of basic goods in shops.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080515/wl_africa_afp/zimbabweeconomyforex

I had a lot of respect for Mugabe when he threw the white farmers out on their ass but then he quickly revealed his baboonery which strips most if not all African presidents of any intellectual finess or any finess for that matter.

truequest,
i want to remind you that some slaves are better than some independent people.
zimbabwians left the frying pan for fire.
it was slavery in some parts, apertied in south africa yet no one is saying or giving a name to the situation in zimbabwe.

It is on quote that no African leader relinquishes power onless he is forced to do so.(Ojukwu 1992).
South Africa and Ghana have tried to proof this wrong but when I remenber Zimbabwe, Kenya and other African countries includig our own Nigeria, I am copelled to acceed to the phylosophy of the quote.
Taking the farm from white farmers was a Pure irrational exuberance from a man of achaic pan-Africanist ideology.
He should have thought about puting food on the table of Zimbabweans instead of the ego of who owns the land.
The inflation and new 500 mil Z$ are just a few in the many things to come, unless Mugabe bows out and allows zimbabwan with fresh Ideals to lead.

also tell yahoo to correct their own title too

I just look on yahoo's site,  they have done d correction,  i didnt edit the heading, i copied and paste as on yahoo,

so not my bad,  yahoo's bad

But apart from Zimbabweans who really is expected to "remove" him?

LOL. So they should start importing foreign 'ladies of the evening'?

You finally concede that having foreigners in Zimbabwe is not a bad idea?? WOW!!! LMAO!!! You mentioned earlier that you acquired much respect for the man when he kicked out the "white" farmers, most of whom, by the way, are actually Zimbabweans. Now you feel bringing foreigners in will do some good??? 

OMG!!!

Na suffering be this oh!

Do these people need to be invaded by South Africa, Botswana or China before their leaders get their act together?

I have read what happened actually and I do not believe what he did was right. He is the law and not to act as a Jaguda when doing things. Chasing the men out was not the right way and I stand by that. Why do we have laws if we do not follow them. Worse, when the elected officials do not follow the laws. Anywho, what we have today is the result of his action and today Zimbabwe celebrates 165,000% inflation cause of it. I mean think about that number. We whine in Nigeria when we experience inflation around the 20% mark. Imagine what would happen when we hit something like 100%?? Then imagine how much worse 100,000% would be and then the rest. How many who become beggars at that rate can survive on anything they get?

It is in times like this that I actually ask the question "Is the black race cursed or are we the cause"?

Can someone explain to me how increasing the denomination of the currency would help one's economy?  

Does the problem lie in taking away the lands from the white man or does it lie in the fact that those lands are lying fallow  

I don't have a problem with Mugabe taking away the lands (especially if those lands were acquired in suspicious situations). My wahala is that he did not have a plan on what to do after taking away those lands. Most times, I see very good decisions taken but the problem is that these decisions are taken in the heat of the moment with little or no regards to the consequences.

If Mugabe cared for his people (as much as he says) he would have started preparing them for this take-over 15 , 20 years ago. The indigenes would have been learning what it takes to run a mechanised farm so that when the onus falls on them to do that, it would not be that hard a transition.

Me thinks he is using sentiments and emotions to score cheap political points from the zimbabweans. It has back fired and backfired badly!!!!!

Zim is suffering not because of MUGABE or white farmers but because WEST impose sactions on the country.

Sanctions we know never achieve any things; only the poor people suffer.

The myopic view of WEST is when people suffer enough, they will riot and send away the government but this does not work atleast in Africa.

WEST is also doing this to WARN other countries in southern africa that plans to take back their stolen land.


Let us read between the lines and open our eyes as Fela said. Thats why Mbeki has never condemned Mugabe. He understands.

Exactly.

@ Sky

I agree with You. I don't trust his real intentions behind the decisions he took  and I think I made that clear in the last paragraph of my post. He used a very sensitive situation to score political points but I think it has backfired.

@ landis

What sanctions are You talking about?   I might be wrong but are the sanctions economic? Cos I thought the sanctions were majorly travel sanctions? 

Even if they were economic sanctions, if the country was in good state prior the sanctions they could easily switch allegiances. Maybe do trade with the asians or something. If the sanctions affected them that much, then that means they havbe been living off grants from the west and Mugabe (just like most other African presidents) should be ashamed.