Support for Bulawayo Pensioners
Uploaded by
NevinSupport for Bulawayo Pensioners
Uploaded by
NevinFrom: Dave Gill <scallywags@netconnect.co.
zw>
Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2008 2:55 PM
Subject: SOAP Bulawayo Update!
S.O.A.P. BULAWAYO
(Supporting Old Age Pensioners)
‘Concerned citizens who hope to make a difference.’
DAVE GILL 3 Whitman Road, Malindela, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
00 263 (0) 9 242486 / 00 263 (0) 11 218 197
PO Box AC 646 Ascot Bulawayo
E-mail; scallywags@netconnect.co.zw
October 2008
Dear Friends and Donors,
Where to start?
Since the last update in July, we have, once more, another ‘new’ currency, which
was introduced on the 1st August.
This time, TEN zeros where lopped off and the old coins once more became legal t
ender and $5 was worth 5 billion old Zim dollars. Pensioners who were receiving
meagre pensions of around 60 million no longer receive anything as that amounts
now to a fraction of a cent. Already, every single commodity is in the tens of t
housands of dollars. Since this introduction, more notes of higher values have b
een produced we now have a $1,000, $10,000 and this week $50,000.
Almost all businesses will not accept a cheque, cash only. The maximum withdrawl
this week was raised to Z$50,000 each day. What will that buy after standing fo
r several hours in a queue at the bank? Minced beef at Z$90,000 a kilo? Obviousl
y not. Bread at Z$17,000 a loaf, 6 eggs at Z$20,000 and perhaps one potato at Z$
90,000 a kilo. Then queue again the next day. Never mind paying large accounts o
f utilities bills or perhaps buying your life saving medication (if you can affo
rd it). Just one American dollar at the time of writing is worth around Z$16,000
(Z$160,000,000,000,000 before 1st August, not forgetting to add the three zero’
s taken off in ‘06). In 1980 the Z$ was equal in value to the US$.
Shops are almost empty, what goods are available for payment in Zim dollars are
at ridiculous prices as the shopkeeper tries to hedge against inflation estimate
d at over
1 TRILLION percent. How about a tin of beans for the equivalent of US$80?
In this climate, ‘Rand’ shops have sprung up in the most unlikely places. Some s
elling from private homes. These charge on average a 100% mark up on the South A
frican price. Fine if you have access to foreign currency, if not you can’t buy.
Where then does this leave ‘our’ pensioners? No income, no transport to cross bo
rder shop?
S.O.A.P., here in Bulawayo is working hard to procure goods from South Africa an
d we have also had to start buying from one of the new importers. Luckily, becau
se we are buying in bulk we get a special discount and pay a 60% mark up. As can
be imagined this has increased our overheads dramatically.
With bereavements and people moving away, in October, we supplied food to 173 ne
edy pensioners but these numbers do increase by 5 or 6 each month. ‘Our’ recipie
nts will need help for the rest of their lives whatever happens.
As always, we stress that it is YOU that enable us to carry on distributing groc
eries because of YOUR generosity. We thank YOU all once more for giving ‘our’ pe
nsioners a little dignity and some hope in these very trying times.
Thank you and God bless you all.
Dave Gill and Louise Campbell.