As Robert Mugabe would say, "If you think there is no fuel in Zimbabwe, just sit in the middle of the road."

Lol. That guy was something else.

There is gas and diesel - it is just expensive for everyday folk relative to how much money they can realistically make.

If you work in SF and spend $5000 on a passion project flying to Zimbabwe, you will have no problem affording gas.

> There is gas and diesel - it is just expensive for everyday folk relative to how much money they can realistically make

Do you have first hand experience from the last ~month? (since everything has collapsed again)

Friends living there who are very, very well off can not physically get their hands on a single liter of gas or diesel.

I recently spent 6 weeks driving around virtually all of Zimbabwe, I have a pretty good idea how the country works (or at least, before the most recent collapse)

Currently in Zimbabwe. It's not an issue of affordability. The country allocates foreign currency to bring in fuel, there is a shortage of foreign currency and the government is struggling to bring in enough fuel to meet demand levels.

Exactly the same as when I lived there. We had the money, but we would queue round the block (even leaving cars unattended) waiting for the fuel to arrive.

No it wouldn't help. There simply isn't enough out there & quite frankly people would outpay "$5k on a passion project" for a stable supply.

Forgive me, I'm not up to date on Zimbabwe news. Why can't you get gas and cooking oil?

No Zim dollar, Zimbabwe uses the bond note which is officially pegged at 1:1 with the dollar. In reality it is going at 1:3.5 at current black market rates (which is the only place you can actually change your currency).

Have you been to Zimbabwe? Drop a pin literally anywhere on Zimbabwe on Google maps to enter street view. The streets are full of cars and every parking space is taken.

I recently spent 6 weeks driving around virtually the whole country, yes.

In the last ~month their economy has collapsed. Their currency is worthless, and there is no gas or diesel in the country. I have plenty of friends in the country and get regular updates.

>>...there is essentially none in Zimbabwe right now

> I recently spent 6 weeks driving around virtually the whole country

I think you should have made it clearer that your initial statement was hyperbole, because if taken literally, how were you driving for 6 weeks?

The major, crippling crash has happened within the last ~8 weeks

I drove around for 6 weeks about 5 months ago, which I consider recently.

Something you need to understand about African countries is that things change fast. Much, much faster than you con comprehend if you've never spent significant time there, because our First-World minds expect things to continue on an even keel.

My statement is very much NOT hyperbole. Multiple friends who have lived their entire lives in Zim currently can't get a drop.