The limited circulation of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) has resulted in villagers Matabeleland North’s Binga area being short-changed by unscrupulous traders who barter groceries with livestock at ridiculous exchange terms
On April 5, Zimbabwe rolled out a new currency called ZiG in an effort to ease currency instability and hyperinflation.
However, the ZiG cash transactions have been limited due to the restricted circulation of notes and coins with many people having to do with electronic payments.
This has been posing serious challenges to villagers in hard-to-reach communities across the country and Binga is no exception.
Despite being endowed with a lot of natural resources, according to the Research Technical Assistance Centre, Binga is ranked the third least developed of all districts in the country which makes it a targeted area by “well-wishers”.
The district suffers dual disadvantages of limited agricultural potential due to poor agro-ecological conditions as well as the presence of wildlife and animal diseases.
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The situation this year has been worsened by the El-Nino induced drought.
Investigations carried by Truth Diggers reveals that due to its remoteness coupled by poor roads, Binga is receiving poor supplies of food, which comes at high cost while the community has to sell items such as fish, livestock and hand-woven basketry products for a song.
Truth Diggers is an investigative unit under Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), publishers of NewsDay, The Standard, The Zimbabwe Independent and Southern Eye.
AMH also operates an online radio and television station Heart and Soul.
The investigations, which included observations and undercover interviews with traders and villagers, reveal that unscrupulous traders from big cities were fleecing villagers in Binga, compelling them to sell their livestock and products at giveaway prices.
The harsh economic climate characterised by the skyrocketing cost of living coupled by the poor circulation of the local currency have worsened the situation in Binga, investigations have revealed.
Women, who make the majority of the entrepreneurs are the most affected as they do not have bank accounts and are not conversant with mobile money transfer technologies.
Some do not even have mobile phones.
Despite the country’s mobile phone usage having gone up over the years, women make up 41,3% of mobile phone subscriptions, according to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.
Civil servants working in communities are also finding it difficult to transact in ZiG, which is being rejected by retailers.
In some instances, they also find it difficult to transact due to poor network.
The only place where a mobile money transfer facility could be available is at Binga Centre, which might be several kilometres away.
Truth Diggers established that most villagers have now been left with no other option except to barter trade their livestock with grain and other foodstuffs.
A recent visit to Nekapande and Pashu showed that two buckets of maize were being exchanged for one goat while a two-litre bottle of cooking oil was being swapped for a chicken.
The cost of a two-litre bottle of cooking oil cost US$3 in most shops.
This publication witnessed several transactions where villagers had to part away with their goats for a 20kg bag of maize meal.
Prices of goats in the area range between US$15 and US$30 depending on the size.
“Unscrupulous people from as far as Harare and Bulawayo are taking advantage of our desperate situation,” Membe Ndlovu, a businessman at Pashu.
“We are literally giving away all our earthly belongings to these middlemen for nothing.
“We are pleading with the government or non-governmental organisations to organise regular formalised auctions so that we get value for our livestock.”
As part of Truth Diggers investigations, we trailed several trucks moving around communities in Binga exchanging livestock with groceries.
“My target is to acquire at least 150 goats every four to three days,” said one of the livestock dealers spotted in Kariyangwe.
“I will be also buying other small livestock such as chickens and guinea fowls during the period.
“So, the idea is to fully maximise on every trip which I do.”
The dealer, who was driving a compartmentalised seven-tonne truck, said he sells the livestock to abattoirs in and around Bulawayo
The cash crisis has apparently also taken a toll on the Binga Craft Centre which at its peak used to be a major source of income and livelihoods to many families.
The centre, which was established in 1989, has uplifted the standards of living as well as the economic status of women through the production of sustainable crafts using natural resources.
“The current cash shortage has really affected weavers,” said Binga Craft Centre manager Matabbeki Mudenda.
“Some dodgy people are taking advantage of the current situation by exploiting the hardworking weavers.
“In some instances, the middlemen are offering a five-litre bottle of cooking oil in exchange for 12 baskets.”
Each basket costs US$4 while a five-litre bottle of cooking oil costs around US$8.
“Most of our weavers do not have access to hard ZiG cash and they do not also have bank accounts,” Mudenda said.
“As a result of these challenges, the centre is failing to procure baskets from the weavers.”
A former official at the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Binga Themba Toonse Kujulu Munkombwe made similar observations.
“People in Binga are now selling everything they own due to hunger and drought in this area,” he said.
“We face a serious challenge where individuals from other areas are taking advantage of the local community.
“People here are not familiar with ZiG and as a result are being exploited, especially when it comes to the currency because they do not know what it looks like.”
Munkombwe, a former councillor, conceded that barter trade was now rife in the area as villagers struggled to survive.
“Outsiders now dictate the prices of everything through barter exchanges,” he said.
“Our cattle, goats, and chickens are being taken by those who can access Binga with trucks, robbing us of our livestock.”
Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister Richard Moyo professed ignorance over the cash crisis and rampant barter trading in Binga.
“As government, we are not aware of any reports of exploitation in Binga,” he said.
“If ever barter trading is happening, it is an arrangement between individuals.”
Moyo said the government through the Social Welfare department has availed food to the vulnerable in the area.
The government introduced ZiG in April this year in a bid to tame skyrocketing inflation.