Close-up of hands exchanging cash, symbolizing improved income for tea farmers in Kenya.
In April, in the government’s latest attempt to stabilise the economy, Zimbabwe’s central bank launched a new currency, Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG. Soon after, Zimbabwean police began cracking down on informal forex dealers and arresting them in their numbers. The authorities blame illegal currency dealing for distorting the exchange rate and devaluing the local currency, and want to ensure the ZiG is accepted and does not lose value rapidly like its predecessor. To date, more than 70 street forex dealers have been arrested. But instead of curbing them, it has driven them underground and towards more creative means of doing business.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA