As the elections approach, scarce dollar bills are trickling into Zimbabwe, brought by cash-flush foreign observers, but the country's cash crisis is far from over. At the Holiday Inn in the capital Harare, along busy Samora Machel Avenue, US dollars, it seems, are flowing freely. Several sports utility vehicles emblazoned with the European Union emblem - 12 gold stars on a blue background - are parked there. The vehicles are in the EU election observer mission's reserved parking lot at the three-star hotel. It is understood that the vehicles are hired for $200 (about R2 700) a day from a car rental company in Harare. On average, rooms at the hotel cost about $130 per night. Since June, the EU observer mission has rented out the entire third floor of the hotel and converted it into an election command centre, as it tracks Zimbabwe's election campaign. A staff member at the hotel said it "is not unusual" to have seen increased payments in hard dollars by guests since the onset of the...
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