From Zim Online (SA), 13 December

Mugabe moves to dip his hands into private Foreign Currency Accounts

Harare - The Zimbabwe government plans to introduce new regulations to allow it to temporarily borrow from foreign currency accounts (FCAs) of private organisations and individuals, in yet another desperate bid to lay its hands on whatever little hard cash is available in the country, Zim Online has learnt. Sources within the central Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the proposed new regulation that they said could be announced early next year would bring FCAs held by individuals and others such as non-governmental organisations within reach of President Robert Mugabe's hard cash-strapped government. If implemented as planned, the move would widen the sources of hard cash for the internationally-isolated Mugabe government, currently battling fuel, power and basic commodity shortages due to lack of foreign currency. "The bank (RBZ) is currently working on the modalities of implementing the scheme. Details will be announced early in the New Year," said a senior RBZ official, who asked to remain anonymous.

It is envisaged that the government, through the central bank, would use the scheme to borrow funds from the FCAs which would be repaid after some time but with interest. No comment could be obtained yesterday from RBZ governor Gideon Gono or Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa. Zimbabwe has faced acute foreign currency shortages since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) withdrew balance-of-payments support in 1999 following disagreements with Mugabe‚s government over fiscal policy and other governance issues. Several other international money lenders, donors and development agencies, taking a cue from the IMF, have since suspended relations with the Harare administration. Mugabe‚s chaotic and often violent farm seizure programme, launched a year after the IMF withdrew assistance, exacerbated Zimbabwe‚s foreign currency and economic crisis by destabilising the agricultural sector, the backbone of the economy.

Zimbabwe, with an annual inflation rate of 502.4 percent and unemployment of over 70 percent, has been described by the World Bank as the fastest-shrinking economy in the world outside a war zone. The southern African nation, once a regional economic star, has seen export earnings this year decline by 6.4 percent to US$157 million while imports also fell by 2.6 percent to US$193 million, according to Murerwa, who last week presented the country's 2006 national budget statement. Murerwa's figures point to a contracting economy, barely able to meet its day-to-day import requirements. Harare survived censure from the IMF in September after making last-minute payments of its arrears to the Bretton Woods institution which was on the verge of expelling the country from the Fund. Fuel and food shortages coupled with hyperinflation have scuttled all efforts to resuscitate the economy after more than six years in the wilderness.

If I'm reading this right wouldn't that draw a straight line from the account holder(eg safari co "X") to the goverment, meaning sanctions?

And wondering out loud how they could be so stupid as to announce this ~30 days prior to the largest market in the industry.

Borrowing from someone's FCA doesn't mean you are in business with them. It just means, that they are taking your US Dollars and they might pay you back in ZIM Dollars.

Kind of like someone taking money out of your savings account and repaying it in Monopoly money.

With the hyperinflation going on in ZIM, it is rapidly moving to a US Dollar based economy. The ZIM Government is scrounging around for every USD it can find in order to pay for imports. Nobody outside of ZIM will accept the ZIM Dollar.

Regards,

Terry

Like it has been stated many times prior to this thread...the entire mess known as Zim. is one shitbag waiting to explode.
Is there anyone whom still believes that anything such as quotas concessions,lisc., tags, export permits couldn't be had for some cold US currency? Cause if there is I own some nice stocks that are sure to split in the near future I'll sell to you at a loss...just to give you a start.