Zimbabwe deals in dirty money
Source: Agencies |
July 7, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE washing machine cycle takes about 45 minutes - and George Washington comes out much cleaner in the Zimbabwe-style laundering of dirty money.
Low-denomination US bank notes change hands until they fall apart there in Africa, and the bills are routinely carried in underwear and shoes through crime-ridden slums.
Some have become almost too smelly to handle, so Zimbabweans have taken to putting their US$1 bills through the spin cycle and hanging them up to dry alongside their sheets and clothes.
It's the best solution - apart from rubber gloves or disinfectant wipes - in a country where the dollar has long been the currency of choice and where the lifespan of a dollar far exceeds what the US Federal Reserve intends.
Zimbabwe's coalition government officially declared the US dollar legal tender last year to eradicate world record inflation of billions of percent in the Zimbabwe dollar as the economy collapsed.
The US Federal Reserve destroys about 7,000 tons of worn-out money every year. It says the average US$1 bill circulates in the US for 20 months - nowhere near its African life span of many years.
Larger denominations coming in through banks and formal import and export trade are less soiled. But among Africa's poor, the US$1, US$2, US$5 and US$10 bills are the most sought after. Dirty US$1 bills can remain in circulation at rural markets, bus parks and beer halls almost indefinitely, or at least until they finally disintegrate.
Still, banks and most businesses in Zimbabwe do not accept torn, Scotch-taped, scorched, defaced, exceptionally dirty or otherwise damaged US notes.
Zimbabweans say the US notes do best with gentle hand-washing in warm water.
Low-denomination US bank notes change hands until they fall apart there in Africa, and the bills are routinely carried in underwear and shoes through crime-ridden slums.
Some have become almost too smelly to handle, so Zimbabweans have taken to putting their US$1 bills through the spin cycle and hanging them up to dry alongside their sheets and clothes.
It's the best solution - apart from rubber gloves or disinfectant wipes - in a country where the dollar has long been the currency of choice and where the lifespan of a dollar far exceeds what the US Federal Reserve intends.
Zimbabwe's coalition government officially declared the US dollar legal tender last year to eradicate world record inflation of billions of percent in the Zimbabwe dollar as the economy collapsed.
The US Federal Reserve destroys about 7,000 tons of worn-out money every year. It says the average US$1 bill circulates in the US for 20 months - nowhere near its African life span of many years.
Larger denominations coming in through banks and formal import and export trade are less soiled. But among Africa's poor, the US$1, US$2, US$5 and US$10 bills are the most sought after. Dirty US$1 bills can remain in circulation at rural markets, bus parks and beer halls almost indefinitely, or at least until they finally disintegrate.
Still, banks and most businesses in Zimbabwe do not accept torn, Scotch-taped, scorched, defaced, exceptionally dirty or otherwise damaged US notes.
Zimbabweans say the US notes do best with gentle hand-washing in warm water.
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