(18 Feb 2009) SHOTLIST
1. Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti takes a seat at news conference
2. Mid of Biti
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe Finance Minister:
"With immediate effect all vouchers issued to civil servants as payments of allowances will be redeemable into cash at designated banks and further with effect from March 2009 payment of all allowances to civil servants will be made directly into their respective foreign currency accounts and therefore the voucher payment scheme will cease forthwith."
4. Various of journalist taking notes
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe Finance Minister:
"Yesterday we paid the army, today we are paying the teachers and tomorrow we will pay the remainder of the civil service. So as a matter of fact we will pay those allowances so it's not a question of, it's not a hope. We are doing that."
6. Wide of presser
STORYLINE:
Zimbabwe's government has begun paying workers in US dollars and will allow more trade in foreign currency as part of an attempt to cap spiralling prices for food and household goods that have contributed to widespread hunger and a medical crisis.
New Finance Minister Tendai Biti made the announcement on Wednesday, in the first act by a unity government that gives the opposition control of much of the devastated economy.
Biti, who was a long-time opposition leader in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party, says some 130-thousand soldiers, teachers, civil servants and other government workers will receive 100 US dollars (80 euros) a month tax-free, replacing their local currency salaries.
Biti told reporters that starting immediately, vouchers paid to civil servants "will be redeemable into cash at designated banks."
Starting next month civil servant salaries will be paid directly into their foreign currency accounts, he said.
Biti said soldiers were paid on Tuesday, teachers are being paid on Wednesday and other civil servants will be paid on Thursday.
President Robert Mugabe's party had opened up the economy to the US dollar and other stable currencies in an acknowledgment that runaway inflation has made the Zimbabwe dollar worthless.
Biti's announcement represents a broadening of that strategy.
Last year, official inflation based on the tumbling local Zimbabwe dollar was given at 231 million (m) percent but the state statistics office said it was no longer able to calculate the inflation rate because of acute shortages of gasoline, food and most goods that spurred black-market dealings.

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