I can’t remember the last time I deposited money into my bank account.
Actually I might as well say I don’t have a bank account because I’m sure by now the account has been de-activated after being dormant for so long.
And I believe there are a lot other Zimbos who can relate because our banking system, just like the economic environment, can never be trusted – once bitten twice shy they say!
In the past a lot of people have lost their life’s savings due to hyper-inflation, drastic monetary policies among other reasons which have a bearing on the banking sector and the economy at large.
Not so long ago our local currency was at par with the American Dollar and when that changed, again many people lost out because the former was ‘reduced’ to its rightful place of being value-less.
So having learnt from the past and having learnt the hard way, the majority would rather keep their money anywhere other than the bank. Besides, the country has been facing cash shortages for some time now so there is also that danger of failing to withdraw.
Seeing that the masses are no longer banking their hard earned cash, the central bank this week tried to entice people by introducing fixed interests rates, for both local currency and forex accounts.
The statement from the central bank fell just short of begging people to bank their money.
Indeed, I would rather dig a hole somewhere and stash the little that I have than bank it. And this seems to be the same feeling for many people who wrote on social media that they would rather keep their money under the mattress.
“I am safer with NMB (National Mattress Bank),” tweeted someone under the name The oppressed masses, while one Shumba2020 wrote, “NMB offers no interests, but it has got something that banks currently don’t have – trust.”
While these may sound like jokes, it is actually the sad reality because people would rather take risks and keep their monies where it’s not even safe than deposit into their accounts.
In any case the interests rate that have been put on the table are hardly lucrative as the US Dollars savings account only attracts one percent per annum while the Zim Dollar account will get five percent.
Meanwhile, we seem to be heading towards dark days in relation to the unrelenting Covid-19. As of Tuesday, 519 new cases were recorded bringing the total to 42, 714 cases in the country. At least 1, 691 have so far succumbed to the disease.
The rising number of cases has forced the government to delay the opening of schools by two weeks while some parts of the country have been placed under lockdown. And sadly vaccines are in short supply.