Zimbabwe's
central bank will introduce a 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollar banknote,
worth about $33 (22 pounds) on the black market, to try to ease
desperate cash shortages, state-run media said on Friday. Skip related content
Prices
are doubling every day, and food and fuel are in short supply. A
cholera epidemic has killed more than 2,000 people and a deadlock
between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition has put hopes of
ending the crisis on hold.
Hyper-inflation has forced the central bank to continue to release new banknotes which quickly become almost worthless.
There is an official exchange rate, but most Zimbabweans resort to the informal market for currency transactions.
In
addition to the Z$100 trillion dollar note, the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe plans to launch Z$10 trillion, Z$20 trillion and Z$50 trillion
notes, the Herald newspaper reported.
"In a move meant to ensure
that the public has access to their money from banks, the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe has introduced a new family of banknotes which will
gradually come into circulation, starting with the Z$10 trillion," the
Herald said, citing a statement from the central bank.
Previous
issues of new banknotes have done little to curb the cash crunch faced
by Zimbabweans, who often line up for hours outside banks to withdraw
barely enough to buy a loaf of bread.
Critics blame the economic
meltdown on mismanagement by Mugabe's government, including the seizure
and redistribution of thousands of white-owned farms. The once-thriving
agricultural sector has fallen into ruin.
The veteran Zimbabwean
leader, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, says Western
sanctions are the main cause of the economic crisis and worsening
humanitarian picture.
"POLITICAL SOLUTION"
Political
analysts say the establishment of a unity government between Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
is the best hope of reversing the economic slide and worsening
humanitarian crisis.
But power-sharing talks are deadlocked over
the control of key government ministries. Tsvangirai accuses Mugabe of
trying to assign the MDC a junior role and has demanded the release of
detained opposition members before a deal is implemented.
On Thursday, he also called for the unconditional release of detained activists.
Among those arrested is human rights
campaigner Jestina Mukoko, accused with the others of plotting to
topple Mugabe. A Zimbabwean court on Friday granted her permission to
seek her release in the Constitutional Court.
In neighbouring South Africa, European and South African ministers called on Zimbabwe's rival parties to implement their agreement.
"Ministers
expressed grave concern at the ongoing violence and abductions and
recognised that a political solution to Zimbabwe's problems is critical
to bringing an end to this cycle," they said in a statement.
The
presidents of regional powers South Africa and Mozambique will meet
political parties in Zimbabwe on Monday in a new regional push to break
the impasse, South Africa's government said on Thursday.