Now we know why they call it the “Cape of Good Hope”!
President Mbeki says South Africa will bail out Zimbabwe in its scheduled IMF payments.
A government spokesman said on Wednesday a loan would allow Zimbabwe to resume IMF payments and prevent their expulsion from the body.
But he dismissed reports the credit could be $1 billion, saying it “could even be as low as one-tenth of that”.
Following a failed harvest, Zimbabwe is suffering food shortages.
It has been short of foreign currency for imports such as fuel for several years.
Mr Mugabe’s critics say his seizure of white-owned land have wrecked the country’s agriculture-based economy.
He blames his problems on a Western plot.
The largest crash of the Zimbabwean dollar took place in the past six days as desperate motorists went looking for foreign currency to fund fuel imports.
A week ago the Zimbabwe dollar was trading at about Z$25 000 to US$1 on the parallel market, which is where many manufacturers source foreign currency to fund imports.
On Thursday it had touched Z$45 000 to US$1. The rand was selling at Z$6 000 but buyers were paying Z$7 000. The unofficial exchange rates are available at any street corner from vendors trading covertly opposite hotels frequented by foreign visitors.