Source URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200607200108.html

Zimbabwe: Country's Zeros Baffle Computers

July 20, 2006
Posted to the web July 20, 2006

Rangarirai Mberi
Harare

NOW, even the computers are having trouble making sense of all those zeros. Some 72 representatives from commercial banks and the central bank have met to discuss the hard time their computers are having reading the zeros on Zimdollar transactions.

Apparently, software -- obviously written for normal economies -- is now failing to handle "transactions amounting to trillions and therefore creating an urgent need for a solution", according to minutes of the meeting seen by The Financial Gazette.

The meeting, held last Wednesday, considered three options to get around the problem; increase the maximum number of digits allowed by systems, or increase the field size so that large amounts can be handled; remove the two decimal places in the amount field; or reduce the number of zeros in the amount field: drop zeros, effectively dividing all values by the same number.

One representative said his bank's software suppliers had said they would not change their systems to accommodate more zeroes. "He went on to say the current cost estimate given by their supplier is US$300 000 and this is prohibitive."

The meeting also heard that software suppliers are not keen to change their entire systems and programs just to accommodate users from Zimbabwe as it does not make any business sense for them.