South African Plea For Decimal Coinage

Grey River Argus, 15 November 1948, Page 7

South African Plea For Decimal Coinage

I From Reuters Correspondent] CAFE TOWN, (By Airmail). A recommendation that the Government take the necessary steps to set up a decimal currency in South Africa is contained in the main report of the decimal committee of the National Anti-Waste and Conservation Organisation. The committee states that during the two and a half years of its investigations it found a clear majority- of views in favour of a decimal system of currency. Among the advantages urged in its favour were that it would provide a simpler and more expeditious form of trade accounting and a more precise and effective method of costing and pricing. In addition, the decimal system would be more readily comprehended in household and other consumer monetary transactions. The committee is convinced that the use of a single and comparatively small basic "measure of value” for example the florin, with consequent elimination of several “measures” in the innumerable transactions of daily life—that is, values would be expressed in “florins” instead of pounds, shillings and pence would have all round beneficial results. It is also felt that the decimal system would give an accurate appraisal of small price differences which would tend to make the expenditure of money more judicious than it is under the present currency and would result in an appreciable economy of time and effort in education institutions. Among the reasons put forward against the decimal coinage being adopted were that such a step should be taken only in concert with similar action by Great Britain, and that the costliness of altering or adjusting mechanical accounting and other machines, reprinting account books and forms, and issuing new interest tariff books, and so on, would make the change undesirable. Commenting on these and other objections, the- committee observes that estimates, based on facts supplied by the principal sales representatives of cash registers, accounting and other machines likely to be affected, place the cost of altering or replacing machines at £5,000,000. Given adequate notice, the committee believes that there would be no insuperable difficulties to carrying out the change in from two to three years’ time, particularly m view of the fact that there is a considerable backlog of orders to be filled for new machines, and that many of the machines in use at present are old and in need of replacement. The cost would probably be in the neighbourhood of £10,000,000 in 10 years’ time, the committee estimates. At the same time, it is convinced that the establishment of the decimal system would result in far-reaching economies and other permanent advantages of great national importance to South Africa.