Great post, Tom !
My singular visit to Zimbabwe via Lubumbashi was a food run for the Consulate. Great steaks, cheap prices and wonderful Aussie accents! Even then in 86, rough cut stones (purportedly from Zaire’s southern province) and lots of malachite could be had in the markets, but only in exchange for hard currencies.

Rates of Exchange (ROE) (DIA adopted that acronym from Rules of Engagement, which actually means the same thing): When I arrived in Zaire, the official ROE was 50 Makutas (one half of a Zaire, or 50 cents if you will) to one USD, and the black market rate (directly in front of the US Embassy and known as Wall Street) was 25 to 28 Zaires to one USD.

When I departed in late 94 the rates were more than 5 million Zaires to one USD

In order to eat in any restaurant, one would need a briefcase. Most of us paid in USD or held a credit account til the end of the month.

Grocery stores did not post prices on the shelves. The value of your purchase was calculated during the arduous process of ringing up your total.

I think Zimbabwe is in for a rough ride, but could they handle the depth and finesse of professional corruption that Zairians invented/perfected