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ZIMBABWE: Far From the City’s Money, Villagers Barter Again

Stanley Kwenda

CHITSA, Zimbabwe, Nov 2 2009 (IPS) - In Chitsa, a village with some 2,000 inhabitants located about 250 km from Zimbabwe’s capital of Harare, it has become difficult to conduct everyday transactions involving money.

The village has been slow to embrace the multi-currency system introduced by the Zimbabwean government in February this year after the value of the Zimbabwean dollar continued to plunge catastrophically. Although the use of multiple currencies quickly became common in cities and towns, it is proving to be difficult to implement in rural areas.

In Chitsa, it has become common practice to pay for goods and services in kind. At Mutema Shopping Centre, shop owners accept both payment in cash or kind. They only accept cash if no change needs to be given.

Trymore Mutisi, a teacher at the nearby Mutema Primary School, told IPS that bartering has become a way of life. “In times of difficulty people learn how to improvise, which they have done here for a long time,” Mutisi explained.

He conducts extra lessons for final year students at his school and gets paid in kind. “I get whatever parents can give me. Goats, maize meal, rice… whatever they can offer, I just take because I know there is nowhere they can get money,” Mutisi empathised.

The use of foreign currencies, such as the South African rand, Botswana’s pula, U.S. dollar or British pound, has affected rural people negatively as those far from foreign borders have no access to foreign currency. But they have found a way around it with barter trade.

“The government should introduce a policy where people living in ‘the back of the beyond’, like us, can be allowed to barter goods in exchange of services. It is not anybody’s fault but things must be done to accommodate everyone,” demanded Mutisi.

At Mutema Shopping Centre, only three shops are operating: a general dealer, a grinding mill and a bottle store.

Abel Zinyeka, who owns the Mutema Bottle Store, described the situation in the area as “business at your own risk.

“We accept this barter trade in the hope that whatever we get here will be exchanged for cash in town and give us an opportunity to restock our shops. There is nothing that we can do because these people just don’t have access to money. Otherwise we have to close the shops.”

A councillor in the area, Munyaradzi Mandivheyi, explained to IPS that adjusting to life under the new monetary regime has been very difficult for his people. “We agree with the idea of introducing multiple currencies but it has been difficult for people living in Mutema.

“People ‘are seeing fire over this’ (are angry) but we are glad that the business people understand our plight. Life is far from normal here,” believes Mandivheyi.

Many people living in rural areas such as Chitsa are peasant farmers who depend on their crops for their survival. Farmers barter to have their maize milled to make the local staple called “sadza”.

Some are forced to surrender a 20 lt bucket full of tomatoes for a trip to nearby Masvingo town. In such cases, the exchange is not equal as a 20 lt bucket of tomatoes would normally fetch a price that is five times what the journey to Masvingo costs. But business people that IPS spoke to argued that the farmers voluntarily give their produce in exchange of goods and services.

Nevertheless, Mutema peasant farmer Claudius Chimwanda told IPS that they do so because they have no alternative. “There is nothing you can do. If you want to go to town you have to give the transport people what they want.

“If you want bathing soap, bread, cooking oil or anything from their shops, you have to give the shop owners what they wants. That the way of life but it’s difficult for us,” lamented Chimwanda.

“We are like a forgotten tribe here in the rural areas. Everything happens in Harare and we only get to hear about it when decisions are made. We are never consulted about anything but we suffer the most,” he added.

Speaking to Zimbabwe’s state media earlier this year, Oxfam’s director for Zimbabwe, Peter Mutoredzanwa, warned that bartering food for services might leave many at the risk of food shortages.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ), which is interested in safeguarding the rights of consumers, is engaging the government on how best it can serve the rural people under the current financial regime. “We are making consultations on the system can be improved,” Rosemary Siyachitema, CCZ director, told IPS.