A CURRENCY is a wonderful flagship for a country, bobbing away minute by minute on the waves of global sentiment and trade. It is a useful proxy for where the market and economy is heading next, but in Zimbabwe's case it has become more like an albatross around the necks of its leaders, dragging them further into an abyss of economic disaster.
Zimbabwe had to abandon its currency -- hard won via bloody civil strife for freedom -- in 2009 as effectively worthless, with the US dollar and rand being accepted instead as the main legal tender.
While this change did put a plug in runaway inflation, a new plank in the strategy has been to look east by accepting the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, Indian rupee and Australian dollar as legal tender too.
The jury is out on how clever all of this is, as the ultimate aim should surely be to reclaim your flag -- your currency in this case -- and let it proudly flap away in the winds of global economic change.
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