IT COSTS SEVERAL BILLIONS FOR A SIMPLE LUNCH IN HARARE

Thanks to Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe, the exchange rate now for their currency there is 25 billion Zimbabwean Dollars to a US Dollar, or 40 Zimbabwean Dollars to a British Pound. A simple lunch there now costs literally billions of Zimbabwean dollars! For example: A double cheeseburger in Harare is ZWD 50 billion, add fries and a Coke to that equals to ZWD 80 billion. Currently, the 25 billion and 50 billion notes are the largest in circulation. This is so mind-boggling. Imagine how much money a Zimbabwean has to bring with him just to go to a grocery? Methinks Mugabe's days are numbered. Many Zimbabweans have been seeking refuge elsewhere fleeing from the claws of the dictator. Back here at home, I'm resigned to the sad fact that President Arroyo will be staying on until 2010 - and beyond. Watch them now as they renew calls for Charter Change. But if Arroyo follows the footsteps of Mugabe persecuting and punishing critics and killing journalists, with her fellow-economists screwing our banking system, our Philippine Peso could be just like the Zimbabwean dollar, God forbid. But for now, our peso is stronger as against the dollar, and could well be better if our government is dead serious on proper governance, beginning with our very own Bangko Sentral.

(Image from http://bbc.co.uk/)