Watching Zimbabwe's government ruin the country is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. In August, the one-month inflation rate hit 211%.

When Zimbabweans who work abroad send money home via the government’s own transfer service, called Homelink, the recipients get only the official exchange rate of Z$250 per US$1 sent. If the money is sent via informal (“black market”) transfer services, the relatives get the market rate, currently about Z$1200 per US$1 and rising. Banks and other private money transfer agencies (e.g. Western Union) are caught in the middle: they’re supposed to pay out at the official exchange rate, but competition obliges them to pay the market rate.

Paying about one-fifth of the market rate, the government’s Homelink system is naturally having trouble attracting any transfer business. The government’s solution? Not to abolish the official exchange rate that renders Homelink uncompetitive, of course. Instead, it has moved to abolish the competing private transfer agencies. The BBC reports:

Zimbabwe has banned 16 money transfer agencies from operating in the country, accusing them of abusing their licences by doing deals on the black market.

Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono … claimed that this latest move - a measure that caught many by surprise - would help in turning round the country's shrinking economy.

But critics claim that the government is trying to bolster its failing Homelink scheme by getting rid of the competition.

I’m glad I don’t have Mr. Gono’s job. It must be difficult for him to read his lines with a straight face.

Hat tip: WEG