Mon, Jan 14, 2008 - Page 6 News List

Zimbabweans lose faith in bank system

AFP , HARARE

Kennedy Tsambo's faith in Zimbabwe's banking system finally hit breaking point over Christmas when he spent an ultimately fruitless three days queuing to withdraw cash in order to buy a bus fare home.

"This was not a donation that I was queuing for, it's my own money which I should be able to withdraw as and when I like," said the 37-year-old, who works as a mechanic in Harare but whose family lives in eastern Nyanyadzi district.

"Now I am thinking of taking out all my money. I won't deposit any more in the bank until this chaos is over."

Tsambo is among tens of thousands of casualties of a cash crisis in inflation-ravaged Zimbabwe which has seen banks regularly run out of notes since mid-October.

Central bank chief Gideon Gono blames the crisis on cash barons he says have been hoarding Zimbabwe dollars and exchanging them for scarce foreign currency.

Despite unveiling three new currency denominations last month in a bid to ease the shortages, winding queues are still a common feature at banks as the cash crisis persists.

Mairos Chigwada, an upholsterer who is self-employed, vowed he would "never repeat that mistake again" after depositing all the money he had earned during the peak month of November into his bank account.

"Now I can't withdraw the money," says Chigwada standing near the tail-end of a queue outside a bank in Harare's Samora Machel Avenue.

"It's just not fair. It's hard enough working for that money and it shouldn't be another pain taking it out of the bank where I put it in the first place."

With the cash crisis showing no sign of abating, many Zimbabweans are losing faith in the banking system, according to analysts, and could revert to the old days of stashing vast sums of money in pillow cases.

"Nobody in their sense would sell their goat, for example, and take the money to the bank when they are not sure they can withdraw it when they want it," Daniel Ndlela, an independent economist, said.

Godfrey Kanyenze, chief economist of the Zimbabwe Congress said depositors had no incentive to keep money in the bank.

"There is no incentive of keeping money in the bank any more," Kanyenze said.

"There is a crisis, everything is now collapsing on its face. Ultimately, this is a national problem," he said.

A banking executive painted a gloomy picture of the sector, predicting massive withdrawals while potential depositors stashed their earnings at home.

"The sector is bound to face serious problems when it comes to deposits," the executive said on condition of anonymity.

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