How have you been forced to receive your change?
The thing is, our change is our money. When a shop doesn’t have coins, and they give us credit notes, sweets, or other things, they take away our autonomy. If we give away our independence to our super markets, what hope is there of getting it back from our politicians?
So, how have shop keepers given you change?
The Legal Resource Foundation has recently published an opinion on the absence of coins for change. You can read it here
They point out that the primary reason for the absence of coins as change is the fact that most shops and customers transact in US dollars (notes), but the coins most readily available from the banks as change for shop keepers is in Rand.
Given the constantly changing Rand to Dollar exchange rate, it is difficult for shops to offer change to customers in a way that takes into account the rate at which they got the Rand coins from the bank, as compared with the Rand to US Dollar rate on the day the customer is at the shop.
To best address this, LRF suggests reminding the Minister of Finance about his pledge earlier this year to make US Dollar coins available to banks, and therefore to shops and customers.
Remind the Minister that we work hard for our money and that every cent counts. It is unfair and insulting to force people to buy items that they do not need. What people want is their change and their autonomy to buy what they want when they want.
Get involved! Tell the Ministry of Finance what you think of the absence of coins as change, and what you suggest he does about it.
Submit your comment on the Ministry of Finance website (and whilst you’re at it, maybe suggest that they add an email address for the ministry that’s not the webmaster).