Giesecke & Devrient has now announced that it will stop supplying Zimbabwe with paper used to print money. The Munich company said its decision was made in response to an official request from the German government and calls for international sanctions on Zimbabwe by the European Union and United Nations.
"Our decision takes account of concerns about the worsening political situation in Zimbabwe which we had expected to improve," Karsten Ottenberg, managing director of Giesecke & Devrient said in a statement released yesterday. "It also reflects the critical views from the international community, the government and general public."
Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic meltdown and economists say the inflation rate is at least 2 million percent. Mugabe, under criticism for the violence leading up to last week's run-off elections, is said to be keeping himself in power by printing money to pay his ministers and supporters.
The violence leading up to the elections and the country's continued runaway inflation have led some nations to call for UN sanctions. A dozen human rights activists demonstrated in front of the company headquarters on Friday, holding up banners reading: "No cash for terror."
Germany's Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul made an official request last week that the paper shipments stop, saying that the money was helping to keep Mugabe in power.
The firm is believed to have supplied about half of the country's currency, according to media reports. Giesecke & Devrient reportedly provides banknote paper to more than 100 countries and is thought to be the largest printer of euro banknotes.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Another Blow to Mugabe
A couple of weeks ago I wrote THIS post about the German company Giesecke & Devrient, who supply paper to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to print their bank notes. Critics claimed the money helped prop up the government of President Robert Mugabe. The Wall Street Journal reports today...
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11 comments:
How does Mugabe pay for these banknotes? I assume the German company does not accept payment in the Zimbabwean dollars they have just printed?
Disappointing to hear WPP on Today programme this morning but no mention of their Zanu-PF work.
So Mugabe's solved the problem of Zimbawean inflation?
Say what you want, the guy's innovating solutions left, right and centre.
All it needs now is a shut-down of South Africa's electricity supply to Zim and game over...
Fat chance!
There is apparently no limit to what Africans are prepared to do by way of violence to each other.
It was always thus.
The African continent and its long-suffering populations is doomed until full and fair elections become the order of the day.
Fat chance 2 !
GreatGranPapaPat [ex-expat]
They also make our Oyster cards - see today's Standard
Nice work to deprive a company of a legitimate business -- and you argued this like a classic lefty too :(
... all that'll happen is that Mugabe's minions will print over the amount with a new denomination, just like happened in the Weimar time when it got too expensive to print money at any denomination.
No-one will be saved by this, if anything having to pay real money for fake stuff it removed dollars from Mugabe to buy weapons with.
Der Kandidat hat Null Punkte :(
HSBC had a quiet word with them
In think this is a good case of where a company should not trade with Zimbabwe - it is directly with the gov. and is on an issue which is directly related to them keeping their tenure on power
Mugabe will probably get the artwork sent to China. They'll do it just as well, cheaper and doubtless quicker than the Krauts.
Supplying paper for Zimbabwean currency must be one hell of a good contract!
Couple of points here
G&D are a security printer - why bother to print Zib Dollars on bank note paper which at a few thousand pounds a tonne is worth more than the face value of the currency
it could easily be printed on normal 80gsm copier paper as it has no value and is unlikely to be forged
can we also ensure that the others especially De La Rue will not supply
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