Hard-Boiled Egg Index
Surviving Zimbabwe’s Hyperinflation
Written by Kudzai Joseph Gumunyu.
To stay afloat, businesses had to produce their goods and sell them unofficially at the underground market. To buy these goods, you had to know someone, and transactions were strictly cash, Zimbabwean or US dollars. US dollar payments were illegal, however, so transactions had to be with someone you knew very well; otherwise, you would be a victim of forceconomics, as the intelligence operatives were quick to arrest anyone breaking this directive.
Hard-Boiled Egg Index is a true story on the struggles Kudzai Gumunyu and most Zimbabweans went through during the record- and heart-breaking hyper-inflationary period in Zimbabwe. Though saddening, the story is told in a humorous and vivid way detailing how Kudzai had to adjust to the effects of economic meltdown. Zimbabwe's inflation rate reached a mind-boggling 89.7 sextillion percent by 2008 and US$1 was worth 3 nonillion Zimbabwean dollars had the Central Bank not debased the currency three times with twenty-five zeros. The ZWD100 trillion became the highest denomination on the planet. Before the crazily denominated notes, money was being carried in wheelbarrows and grain bags and the purchased item in your hand due to rapid loss of value. Every day became a struggle from shortages of foodstuffs, collapse of services, bank queues, as well a salary that could not keep up with inflation. The writer also gives the life and economic lessons learned, which can be useful to other countries navigating similar economic minefields.