Question
A loan of 106,000 kwacha was given to someone. Sometime thereafter the government devalued the currency by 50%. How many kwachas should the debtor repay? Also, what is the ruling if the currency is completely phased out?
Answer
When a currency is devalued by the government, then a debt which had been incurred prior to the devaluation should be repaid by adding the amount lost as a consequence of devaluation. Example: Prior to devaluation the debt was K106,000. The currency is devalued by 50% as mentioned in your example. The amount which the debtor has to pay after devaluation is K159,000 (K106,000 + K53,000).
If the currency is completely abolished/discontinued, then the debtor has to pay the amount of gold or silver which K106,000 could have bought prior to the discontinuation of the currency.
- Source
- themajlis.co.za
- Published in
- The Majlis Vol 21 No 08
- PDF page
- 2
Appears under Questions and Answers (approximate).