Chi-Trump

Today is  wonderful Sunday. The sun is almost at full intensity in Zomba and it looks like we will be having a hot day today. I hope the weather will be “stand-friendly” as I look forward to the all-military soccer game between Red Lions and Moyale Barracks. Those of you who know me know which one I will be supporting.

Before I continue my hibber jabber I have to extend a word of apology; not for not brining an article on Friday, but rather for not telling you why. In short, forces combined and put me out of the writing business for the past two days. I was not certain they would settle so I did not want to promise anything. I just wanted to throw the link when it was ready. It will probably happen again, but be sure it won’t be intentional. Sori.

Last week someone spent some time talking about how Trump defied the odds and won the presidency when prophecy had stipulated otherwise. I must say that last week’s article was one of the best I have read on this blog. I hope you agree.

The US elections brought in a lot of controversy and attracted a lot of attention (not mine, of course). Immediately after Trump’s victory we saw a lot of Trump-related things circulating around the social media. Of course I had some favorites namely the Trump Bar and the video of the President elect beating sanity into someone outside a wrestling ring (looks like WWE Smackdown, but I am not sure). That is just one of those things, anyway. We all circulate these things and more. Some of you have even been all over sharing a video of my daughter, Angie (now known as Abiti Frozy) on Whatsapp.

The Trump fever coincided with the announcement of the ne K2000 note and when the names for the note were suggested (others being nyamakazi, robust, Frozy etc) the Trump name seemed to outclass the others when it came to popularity. I will not be surprised if “chi-Trump” becomes the official name of the K2000 note come 19 December. That reminds me of the Osama Bin Laden milk scone in the early 2000’s.

Let’s talk about the new note, shall we?

Just when I thought they went too far with the notes when they released the aloe vera, the Reserve Bank has released the K2000 note.  The announcement has generated a lot of reaction and I just want to point out what a couple of criers said and why they deserve to be heard. 

The first group is that of the praise and worship team for the country; those people who speak in favor of every proposed change from the “gaffment” side. As usual (like with the issues of the flag change) they have gone on and praised the Reserve Bank for the new note citing that it will relieve the burden of carrying cash for those who need to. Sounds like a valid argument. Chi-Trump will allow you to carry almost two times the amount of money in almost the same space you carry the aloes. Sounds like a fair deal, but I don’t think they considered the possibility of losing the money. I remember the fear that came with the K500 note (we didn’t have much of it when the K1000 note, but this K2000 note will have the same effect, I am sure). My parents stopped sending me to the market for a while for the fear of having me lose the big note. Valid concern, considering my track record. Imagine losing the K2000 note. That is a KFC meal, or a 1GB bundle or food for one week or a return ticket from Zomba to Blantyre depending on whether you are mwana ofewa or not. I wouldn’t want to lose it, so I would rather not have it. I mean, I will continue to take my chances with the bulky aloes.

The other people who commented on the new note are those who need to give change a lot and conductors in particular are worried about what is coming their way. We pay K150 between Chirimba and Lunzu and someone will throw the joker and pay the big note for the same distance. He will need his change in no time and I am not sure the conductor will be able to provide it in a short time. That is just one of the situations and I am sure you know other examples.

On a more serious note, the new note is an indication that the value of our money is going down. Bingu probably saw this when he fought the devaluation. We will soon wake up to a K5000 note if the trends continue and that will be a bad indicator from my little knowledge of economics. I hope we will not get there.

All in all, the coming of the K2000 note should be a wake-up call. The value of our money is getting down and now that our highest note has just been succeeded by something two times its value, we probably need to find strategies for making two times the money we make now. Just to keep up, you know….

Happy Sunday, everyone.