Zimbabwe Is on Lockdown, but Money-Changers Are Still Busy
By Farai Matiashe
In the densely-packed Harare suburb of Kambuzuma, in the midst of a nationwide lockdown, 25-year-old Philip Mundozo is hard at work, servicing customers who want to buy and sell the currency of choice in Zimbabwe – United States dollars.
“I cannot go to town, but that has not stopped me from doing my work. Customers call me and come to my house to trade,” Mundozo told Al Jazeera by phone.
Before President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered a 21-day lockdown in late March to curb the spread of COVID-19, Mundozo’s place of business was a bus terminal – popularly known as Copa Cabana – in the central business district in Harare.
But COVID-19 containment measures have only slightly dented demand for money-changing.
Photo courtesy of Kay McGowan / USAID.
Source: Al Jazeera (link opens in a new window)
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