Chancers
in South Africa are already shopping with fake Mandela banknotes,
barely two weeks after the new money entered circulation, officials said
Thursday.
“When
new notes are introduced there are always endeavours to see whether
they can be counterfeited or copied,” said Gill Marcus, governor of the
South African Reserve Bank.
The
country’s central bank has acknowledged “isolated cases” of
counterfeiting of the new banknote series featuring former President
Nelson Mandela.
The
“Randela” - a nickname that combines the national currency the rand and
the name of South Africa’s first black president - is the latest
monument to the 94-year-old.
His
smiling face features on the front, while the back retains the images
of one of the big five animals - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and
elephant - which also featured on the old money.
Neighbouring
Zimbabwe, which also accepts rand, has meanwhile launched a road show
to raise awareness of the new notes as the country is “flooded” with
fakes, its Reserve Bank has said.
But
even police there are at a loss to spot the counterfeits. “We are not
familiar with the new banknotes ourselves,” said Zimbabwe police
spokesman Andrew Phiri. South Africa’s Reserve Bank has advised the
public “to look, feel and tilt the banknote” to test if they are real.
Revered
statesman Mandela held office between 1994 and 1999. He currently lives
out his retirement in his childhood rural village Qunu, in the Eastern
Cape province. His is the first black face to appear on South African
money.
Vanguard Nigeria
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