Zimbabweans overwhelm banks seeking cash!
HARARE, Zimbabwe - September 30,
2008 - Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans lined up at banks Monday, desperate to
take out their money after the government raised the limit on daily
withdrawals.
New rules went into affect Monday allowing withdrawals of up to 20,000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$35; euro25). The old 1,000 Zimbabwean-dollar limit was barely enough to buy a newspaper.
The limit and the fact that Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world - officially at 11 million percent, unofficially much higher - has meant long lines at banks most days.
But Monday was extraordinary, with lines resembling crowds at a soccer match. Mothers with babies strapped to their backs arrived at bank doors at dawn. Police vainly tried to stop the crowds from blocking traffic - but there appeared to be more police and uniformed soldiers in the lines than on duty.
President Robert Mugabe, meanwhile, returned from a 10-day trip to the United Nations, greeted by a large crowd of singing, dancing well-wishers at the airport.
Looking fit even at 84, Mugabe waved to the crowd and made a brief statement.
"We will be setting up a government by the end of this week," he promised, warning U.S. ambassador James McGee, an outspoken critic of Mugabe's, to stop "interfering" in domestic matters.
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai said Saturday that a new power-sharing government must be formed within days to avert a humanitarian crisis.
