The Times,UK August 19, 2006
By Jan Raath
A system that was once the
envy of Africa is devastated by drug
shortages and rising
charges
FAITH CHIRINDA enjoys nothing more than joining
her friends in
song. The Isheanesu day centre reverberates with the sound of
children
singing and laughing, an oasis of fun in the heart of Harare's
squalid
Glenview township. Faith and her mother are regular visitors at the
centre,
but soon the 14-year-old will be unable to attend these singalongs.
The
medication that controls her cerebral palsy has run out.
Faith's condition has been stabilised by free and regular
supplies of
phenobarbitone, an anticonvulsant that kept her destructive
seizures in
check, but two days ago the local clinic exhausted its last
supplies. Now an
excruciating early death looms over her.
Chemists
sell the drugs for the equivalent of only £1, but even
that sum is beyond
the reach of Virginia Chirinda, her mother. "Faith is
shouting all night,"
Mrs Chirinda, said. "The landlord knocks on the wall
and tells me to keep
her quiet. It is impossible. I end up crying."
Faith is the
latest victim of the plague of sickness and death
that has followed
President Mugabe's wilful ruination of Zimbabwe's robust
economy and its
abundant food production. With it, its healthcare system,
once the envy of
Africa, has quickly become moribund.
Immediately after
independence from Britain, in 1980, Mr Mugabe's
Government built hundreds of
rural clinics and district hospitals that
brought affordable medical care
within reach of nearly all remote
communities. Harare's medical school and
several nursing colleges produced
skilled, competent doctors and nurses.
Immunisation and treatment programmes
checked measles, polio and
tuberculosis. Even this year the Health Ministry's
prevention of
mother-to-child infection treatment programme of HIV was the
most efficient
in Africa. Now, while Mr Mugabe continues to spend on
military hardware,
money for the health system has dried up. Hospitals are
critically short of
drugs and equipment.
The state-run National Pharmaceutical
Company (Nat-pharm) has
admitted that in the first five months of this year
it was able to supply
only 49 per cent of the drugs needed by state
institutions.
Disgruntled doctors and nurses have scattered
all over the world
in search of better-paid jobs. According to health
ministry statistics,
fewer than one in four posts for doctors is filled.
Four out of five of the
district hospitals that serve rural areas have no
doctors.
In April the Health Ministry increased hospital fees
to the
point where casualty admission charges at state hospitals went up by
300,000
per cent. All but the wealthiest have been excluded from state
healthcare.
At Harare central hospital, one of the country's
four largest
referral institutions, gardeners have planted a new lawn
outside the
entrance. Inside, the floors were gleaming and the walls smelt
of fresh
paint.
However, the reality of the institution's
collapse was made
plain in a list of demands presented by Harare's senior
clinicians to the
Health Ministry. The acute and emergency medicine
departments, the main
general surgery suite, the resuscitation room, the
intensive-care unit and
the radiology department were closed because of lack
of equipment and
maintenance; the neonatal unit and the laboratory were
crippled; the
tomography (CT) scanner was broken; maintenance of lavatories
and lighting
was abandoned.
Many parents have stopped
hospital treatment for their children
because they cannot afford the charges
of about Z$500,000, the equivalent of
ten loaves of bread. Paediatricians at
Harare children's hospital said that
admissions of 25 a day have dropped to
five since the new fees were
announced.
In response to an
outcry over the new fees, David Parirenyatwa,
the Health Minister, last
month said that the new charges for children under
five had been
abolished.
"That is not true," said Gregory Powell, chairman
of the
Zimbabwe Paediatric Association. "They get the consultation free but
must
pay for everything else."
"I have to prescribe for
patients with epilepsy and diabetes,
knowing that they can't afford
[medicines] and that they will probably die
without them," said a doctor who
works at Parirenyatwa central hospital,
Harare's other major referral
institution. "Usually it comes out of my own
pocket."
Financial Times
By Tony Hawkins in Harare
Published: August 19 2006 03:00 | Last
updated: August 19 2006 03:00
There were long queues outside banks in
Harare yesterday as people sought to
change banknotes before the existing
ones are withdrawn from circulation at
the close of business on
Monday.
Just three weeks ago the central bank announced that existing
notes would be
replaced with new ones that have had three zeros wiped off
their face value.
The government said the change-over, dubbed the Sunrise
Project, was part of
a fresh drive against inflation - which is running at
close to 1,000 per
cent - and black market trading.
Banks will remain
open this weekend to meet demand. But while some report
that their systems
are now compliant, others warn they will not be ready to
operate with the
new notes by the end of Monday. Despite pleas for a longer
grace period, the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe insists that the switchover
deadline will not be
extended.
Under the scheme, the largest existing denomination note
(Z$100,000) is
being replaced by a Z$100 note, while the biggest
denomination will be a new
Z$100,000 note (Z$100m in the existing issue),
worth £211 at the official
exchange rate.
There has been widespread
criticism of over-zealous police and central bank
officials confiscating
so-called "excess currency", but an international
bank executive yesterday
said the process was going "far more smoothly than
many of us
expected".
The amount of old notes that an individual is allowed to
change at a bank is
limited to Z$100m in any seven-day period. But
regulations on cash ceilings
for companies and individuals were relaxed as
it became clear they were
unworkable. With many retailers, especially
smaller ones, already refusing
to take existing notes for fear that they
will not be able to change them
into the new ones, there are fears of a
degree of gridlock over the next
three days.
Yesterday, the central
bank was unable to say how many new notes it had
issued or how many old ones
had been exchanged. The operation is
controversial partly because the
authorities are using it to crack down on
illegal dealings in the parallel
markets for foreign exchange, food and
fuel, but also because of fears that
retailers and manufacturers are
"profiteering", using the cloak of the note
changeover to raise prices.
Businesses insist they are just passing on
cost increases but Obert Mpofu,
industry minister, tried to impose a
three-week price freeze to forestall
price rises, which has largely been
ignored.
John Robertson, an economist, dismissed the "redenomination" as
"a
non-event". "It doesn't address the underlying causes of the economic
problems here [in Zimbabwe]. In other parts of the world where
redenominations have worked, they have been preceded by major policy
overhauls," he said.
Trevor Ncube, an independent newspaper
publisher, said: "Lopping off three
zeros is semantics. It is like
rearranging the chairs on the Titanic."
The real victims appear to be
ordinary Zimbabweans, with numerous reports of
their being fleeced by
unscrupulous police and officials who see the
exercise as an opportunity to
supplement their inadequate incomes, as well
as by rural shopkeepers, who
are exploiting the fact that poorly educated
people are confused by the
changeover
The Herald
(Harare)
August 18, 2006
Posted to the web August 18,
2006
Harare
ALL commercial banks and building societies will shut
down for normal
transactions tomorrow but will open only for deposits of old
bearer cheques
to allow for the smooth configuration of their IT systems to
the new bearer
cheques.
In a public notice, the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the deposit
facility had been extended to give people
ample time to deposit old bearer
cheques as the changeover date, August 21,
approaches.
"The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe appeals to banks and building
societies to be
flexible in their business hours to ensure that the public
wishing to
deposit or swap old bearer cheques are afforded the opportunity
to do so.
"The public is advised further, that they can continue to make
deposits of
old bearer cheques into the banks and building societies, until
the close of
business on 21 August 2006," the central bank said.
The
statement urged people to use RBZ Cash Swap Teams moving countrywide to
exchange their old bearer cheques.
RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono
reminded major cash movers to stop injecting old
bearer cheques into
circulation as this was derailing the objective of
Project Sunrise/Zuva
Rabuda/Ilanga Seliphumile.
He urged people to report to the central bank
any cases of non-compliance.
Dr Gono also appealed to Cabinet ministers,
Members of Parliament and
community leaders to bring to the attention of the
central bank any
unattended cases in their areas.
"This will ensure
that by 21 August, 2006, our stakeholders will not be
caught unaware with
valueless old bearer cheques," he said.
Only registered trading entities
and parastatals have been allowed to
deposit old bearer cheques on Tuesday
August 22.
Some banks had yesterday begun informing their clients that
they would be
closed tomorrow for all other business except depositing of
old bearer
cheques.
In a notice to customers yesterday, the Zimbabwe
Allied Banking Group (ZABG)
said all the bank's branches would not conduct
normal business tomorrow but
would take deposits of old bearer cheques and
swap the old bearer cheques
for new ones.
"The ATM system may be shut
down from Friday, 18th evening to facilitate the
changeover. We, therefore,
appeal to you to ensure that you get all your
cash requirements between
Thursday 17th and Friday 18th August 2006 to avoid
inconvenience.
"We
expect the ATMs to be back on line on or before Monday 21st August
2006,"
said ZABG director of retail banking Mr Boni Nyoni.
Officials at
Barclays, Zimbank and CABS said they would also be closed
tomorrow for
normal business but would open to receive deposits of old
bearer cheques in
preparation for the roll-over to the new family of bearer
cheques.
Standard Chartered Bank clients said they had been informed
by their bank
that its ATMs would not be dispensing money from yesterday
evening to today.
However, Stanchart customers would be able to use ATMs
tomorrow.
FBC Bank spokesperson Mr Agrippa Mugwagwa said the bank would
work according
to guidelines from the Reserve RBZ as the deadline
approaches.
"We will remain open guided by the central bank," said Mr
Mugwagwa.
Seattle Times
By ANGUS SHAW
The Associated Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe -
Nervous Zimbabweans have gone on a reluctant shopping
spree ahead of the
phasing out of the nation's old bank notes on Monday.
Consumers have
stocked up on bulk goods - from coffee to toilet paper - and
the wealthier
splurged on new cellphones, clothing and household and
electronic items,
store owners said Friday.
The changeover to a new range of bills comes
after the central bank struck
three zeros off the old notes in the
hyperinflation economy and began this
month issuing the new denominations
that include bills for cents, a rarity
in world currencies.
Many
Zimbabweans were left with old notes they were unable to exchange.
Those
notes are set to become obsolete at the close of business on
Monday.
Businessman John Letherby bought 10 bottles of whiskey at his
local liquor
store in the Newlands suburb of Harare.
"I have already
changed my limit into new notes. I will have to look at the
Scotch as an
investment," he said.
With record inflation at nearly 1,000 percent, the
highest rate in the
world, the price of whiskey and other imported luxuries
has more than
doubled in the past two months.
Under the changeover
rules, individuals are permitted to exchange a limit of
100 million old
Zimbabwe dollars ($400) for new currency in a single
transaction each week
since Aug. 1.
Those carrying or attempting to exchange more than 100
million Zimbabwe
dollars are required to prove they earned or received the
money legally.
Businesses were allowed to exchange 5 billion Zimbabwe
dollars a week in old
bills in what the central bank said were measures to
prevent burgeoning
money-laundering.
http://africantears.netfirms.com/thisweek.shtml
Saturday 19th August 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
In the
dying days of Zimbabwe 's old Bearer Cheques which have served as
money, but
are not really money, the change over has been messy, confusing
and in many
cases downright unfair. Regardless of the pronouncement by the
Reserve Bank
Governor that the old money would remain valid until Monday the
21st August,
many establishments stopped accepting it almost a week before
the cut off
date. Shops and companies that were still accepting the old
notes, did not
have any new notes and therefore either couldn't give you any
change at all
or gave you back old notes. As the cut off date drew closer
there was less
and less new money in circulation and everywhere people were
desperately
trying to get rid of old money.
There was a double page, high gloss, pull
out advert printed in 3 languages
in the press which said:"Zero To Hero, let
the hero rise in all of us." Then
followed all sorts of smart subheadings in
shiny blue, pink, orange and
green boxes which answered all the questions
people may have about the new
bearers cheques. It told us how to write
cheques, how to pay bills and how
to round up or down figures when
converting to the new Bearer Cheques. (Yeah
right, as if anything, of any
description is ever rounded down in the
country with the highest inflation
in the world!) At the bottom of the page
was a picture of a nifty little
white pick up truck. "Mobile Cash Swap Team
" it said, "Coming to a town
near you. Bearing good news." And written
underneath the truck in purple
print: "Money on the mooove!"
After reading the advert you sort of feel
encouraged and think OK, this all
looks smart, efficient and professional.
For a moment you forget the body
and vehicle searches for "illegal money"
that are going on at the endless
road blocks all over the country. You
forget the queues out of the doors of
the banks as people still try and
deposit box loads of old money and you
forget the fact that the electricity
is off again and there's still no fuel
to buy - even if you could afford it.
Of course, the more you look for the
nifty little Money On The Moove, mobile
cash swap team truck, the more
elusive it becomes and you are left wondering
if in fact it ever existed at
all.
Three days before the deadline I
took myself off to the supermarket to spend
the last of my old money. I had
1.8 million dollars. Just six years ago I
could have bought a 4 year old
Mercedes Benz 250D car with all the extras
and in immaculate condition for
1.8 million dollars. I wandered around the
supermarket doing mental maths in
my head, and in the end settled on a
packet of salt, a box of custard powder
and 20 plastic clothes pegs.
Standing in the line to pay, it was obvious
everyone was doing the same as
me - buying little things to get rid of the
last of the money. The woman in
front of me had a packet of soup, a bar of
soap and a jar of peanut butter.
Her bill came to 1 million and 70 thousand
dollars - she only had a million.
I gave her 70 thousand out of my purse,
she clapped in thanks and the man in
line behind me said: "Good, thanks
sister, I'll help you if yours is short!
" Then the man behind him said "and
I'll help you!" This is the real face of
Zimbabwe and this is what makes our
country so special.
Please note that I write this letter for free, my
mail server sends it out
for free and no one has my permission to sell
it.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy.
The Telegraph
By Peta Thornycroft in Rusape
(Filed:
19/08/2006)
Zimbabwe's justice minister, who trumpets his
duty to "uphold the
constitution and legal system" in his department's
official mission
statement, is on trial accused of obstructing
justice.
Patrick Chinamasa, a loyal member of President Robert
Mugabe's cabinet
and the author of a raft of repressive laws, appeared in a
shabby
magistrate's court charged with trying to bribe a witness with a farm
seized
from a white owner.
Every magistrate in Mr Chinamasa's
home province of Manicaland
declined to handle the case. The hearing
proceeded only when an elderly
magistrate was brought out of
retirement.t
Mr Chinamasa, 59, who protests his innocence of the
"trumped-up"
charge, allegedly offered the farm in an attempt to scupper the
prosecution
of a cabinet colleague. Didymus Mutasa, the security and lands
minister, was
charged with "inciting public violence" after gangs attacked
his political
rivals.
Those targeted were linked to James
Kaunye, a member of the ruling
Zanu-PF party who challenged Mr Mutasa for
the party's nomination in last
year's general election. Mr Kaunye responded
by pressing charges against Mr
Mutasa.
This week he told the
magistrate's court in Rusape, 90 miles
south-east of Harare, that he had
received a surprise visit from the justice
minister. He testified that Mr
Chinamas offered him another formerly
white-owned farm - in addition to the
one that he already possessed - if he
agreed to drop the case against Mr
Mutasa.
Mr Kaunye added that the justice minister offered to drop a
charge of
attempted murder that he was facing.
The minister
claims that he visited Mr Kaunye simply as a "peacemaker"
to preserve unity
within the party.
Mr Chinamasa has responded to the prosecution by
suing the state
prosecutor.
In 2002, he was convicted for
contempt of court and sentenced to three
months in prison. He never went to
jail and the judge was arrested and held
for three days.
The Herald
Court
Reporter
MIGDALE managing director Mr Tichaona Beverly Muchabaiwa, who
was arrested
on allegations of deriding President Mugabe at a roadblock in
Mazowe, has
been freed after the Attorney-General's Office refused to
prosecute him.
Mr Muchabaiwa was released on Thursday.
Although it
had been reported that he was managing director of Comoil, it
has since been
established that he is the MD for Migdale, the parent company
of
Comoil.
Mr Muchabaiwa was arrested last Saturday for contravening Section
33 2(a) of
the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act which makes it an
offence for
anyone to insult the President.
A law officer at the AG's
Office, Mr Lawrence Phiri, confirmed that they
declined to prosecute Mr
Muchabaiwa because the exact words he is alleged to
have uttered did not
amount to insulting the President.
He said the words Mr Muchabaiwa
allegedly uttered were a mere expression of
one's opinion and there was no
element of insult.
Mr Phiri said police overreacted and just created a
case against Mr
Muchabaiwa.
"I am failing to understand where the
insult was. That is why the police
have not bothered to disclose the exact
utterance. All they simply wanted
was to create an imagination that the
President had been insulted," he
added.
In a statement on August 14,
police spokesperson Inspector Andrew Phiri said
it was alleged Mr Muchabaiwa
was very uncooperative, abusive and made
remarks against the President at
the roadblock.
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Grey Samakande
THE government
of Zimbabwe has announced a new twist in economic
recovery. They are now
eying the Equatorial Guinea for trade deals.
They have already
gotten sick of the Chinese business partnerships
which saw the destruction
of Flea Markets during the Operation Murambatsvina
to pave way for Chinese
traders who had flooded the market with their Fong
Kong
products.
The Zimbabwean government has developed very strong
economic ties with
the Chinese in recent years and I wonder what the Chinese
are going to make
of this new twist.
Industry and International
Trade Minister Mr Obert Mpofu has exhorted
local businesses to move with
haste and take up abundant opportunities
arising in oil-rich Equatorial
Guinea. Of particular interest would be those
in the construction and
manufacturing sectors, said Minister Mpofu on his
return from a trade visit
to the West African country.
"What we witnessed here is not what
you can witness anywhere else," Mr
Mpofu explained.
"Equatorial
Guinea is still developing, and they may have a lot to
learn from
us.
"Zimbabwean companies should seize this opportunity and come in
their
multitudes to explore new areas of co-operation with local
businesses."
It is very good for the government to source new trade
deals anywhere
in the world as long as it benefits the people of Zimbabwe. I
think before
the government can think of this move, it has to deal with the
current
economic crisis that is engulfing Zimbabwe at the moment. The
government
needs to create an economic environment that will encourage
foreign
investors to invest into our economy. By Zimbabwean business people
moving
to the Equatorial Guinea to start new businesses means that they will
only
be helping to develop the economy of that country when that development
could be enjoyed by Zimbabweans.
Mr Mpofu went on to say that
the key areas for development were
agriculture, processing, manufacturing
sectors and construction among
others. In return, Zimbabwe could access
Equatorial Guinea's vast petroleum
industry -- a strategic sector for
non-oil-producing nations like Zimbabwe,
as well as earn much-needed foreign
currency.
Don't you think there is an element of greediness here?
The Zimbabwe
government is hoping to lay its hands on the Equatorial
Guinea's oil. The
same applied to the Democratic Republic of Congo where
President Robert
Mugabe's government hoped to benefit from the diamonds, and
that led to
Mugabe sending the Zimbabwean army to help president Kabila
during the war
in DRC. A lot of soldiers died during that era. The
involvement of Zimbabwe
into the DRC war also helped to plunge Zimbabwe's
economy into turmoil.
We have vast tracts of land in Zimbabwe which
has not produced
anything for years. Why can't the government of Zimbabwe
invest on the land
so we can produce our own food and create employment for
the local people?
Zimbabwe is very rich in wild life and tourism facilities
that require
government attention and commitment. This alone can attract a
lot of foreign
visitors who will in return bring in the most needed foreign
currency. We
have plentiful minerals that we can sell to rich countries of
the world. The
only place where Zimbabwe's economy can do better is
Zimbabwe. What the
government need to do is to respect the rule of law and
observe human
rights. All that we need is in Zimbabwe. What exactly are the
people of
Zimbabwe going to benefit from the Equatorial Guinea? There is
nothing that
we need to learn from them. The minister clearly stated that
Equatorial
Guinea has a lot to learn from Zimbabwe instead.
I
think our government has just gone haywire. It needs to deal with
the
problems at home before looking at places far far away.
The Herald (Harare)
August
18, 2006
Posted to the web August 18, 2006
Harare
DZL Holdings
Limited has predicted a 10 percent decline in milk production
for the year
ending December 31 2006.
In an interview with the Herald Business, a
Dairibord official said its milk
intake had declined by 13 percent between
January and June this year,
compared to the same period last
year.
The official said this while dismissing speculation that milk
production at
the company had increased following improved availability of
milk in most
retail outlets.
"Following the closure of informal
outlets such as tuckshops, formal
channels have had to handle additional
volumes that used to go through the
informal channels.
"In addition,
consumers buying patterns have changed in response to
inflationary pressures
on consumer disposable incomes," hence a marked
increase in terms of
availability of the commodity in major supermarkets,
the official
said.
The company was in the middle of acquiring 500 dairy cows in a
development
meant to boost milk production in the country.
However,
DZL indicated that it only managed to import a total of 100 in-calf
heifers
from South Africa.
"Foreign currency constraints have prevented the
importation of the expected
500 cows. However, 100 in-calf Holstein heifers
have been imported from
South Africa for the Build-Operate and Transfer
programme.
"These have been distributed to three farmers while another 20
animals were
sourced locally and provided to a farmer in Chipinge,"
Dairibord said.
According to DZL, two of the new farmers on the BOT
programme who received
the first batch of cattle are now into full-scale
production and the other
farmers were already into milk production, using
the small herds which they
had before receiving the BOT
heifers.
"Currently, most of the heifers have exhibited above-average
production,
which is about 15-24 litres per cow per day, which is
encouraging," the
official added.
Dairibord has also employed
qualified managers to run these dairies to
ensure skills transfer and sound
management.
Scoop, NZ
Saturday, 19 August 2006, 2:36 pm
Press Release: International
Confederation Of Free Trade Unions
INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE
UNIONS
Release of Zimbabwean trade unionists followed by arrest of
another
Brussels, 18 August 2006 (ICFTU OnLine): The International
Confederation of
Free Trade Unions welcomed the release from prison on
August 17 of M.
Wellington Chibebe, the General Secretary of its affiliated
organisation,
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).
M.
Chibebe was arrested at a roadblock on August 15 and detained at
Waterfalls
Police station. The police demanded to search his car, supposedly
in order
to look for cash. The Government is currently campaigning to
prevent
currency speculation while it is conducting a major monetary reform
purportedly aiming at fighting hyperinflation, which currently stands at
over 1000%.
At first, Chibebe was accused of resisting a police
search. According to
ZCTU legal sources, however, the police later
deliberately changed the
charges to common assault against a police officer
so as to make the issue
more serious, given his profile. He was released on
bail of ZIM $ 2,000 (
$US4) and is set to appear in court on the 4th of
September.
However, the same day Chibebe was released, another trade
unionist, ZCTU
National Organiser, Leonard Gwenzi was arrested carrying ZIM
$200,000
($US200) upon his return from a series of trade union workshops
throughout
the country. He was on his way back to the ZCTU offices to
deposit the
money. He was later released, however, after the Zimbabwean
Reserve Bank
acknowledged, on the basis of receipts and vouchers held by
Gwenzi, that he
was in fact carrying ZCTU funds. He was released uncharged
and the money was
returned to him. Guy Ryder, the General Secretary of the
ICFTU said today:
"These latest arrests just add to the long history of
harassment and
repression of Zimbabwe's independent trade union movement. On
a broader
level, the idea that confiscating citizens' possessions is a way
of
addressing the root causes of Zimbabwe's dramatic economic situation is
illegal and dangerous."
"We welcome both unionists' releases, but
demand the dropping of charges
against Wellington Chibebe. The international
trade union movement will
continue to act at the UN's International Labour
Organisation and elsewhere
to bring about an end to this government's
repressive tactics against the
ZCTU, its members, activists, leaders and
sympathisers," Ryder concluded.
The Guardian
The revaluation of the Zimbabwean
dollar by three decimal places isn't going
to solve the country's economic
problems.
Andrew Meldrum
Robert Mugabe seems tense and
twitchy.
The Zimbabwean president, 82, is quick to resort to threats and
punishments
against any he perceives as enemies. Tensions are rising in
Zimbabwe over
the looming deadline of August 21, when the country's existing
currency will
cease to be legal tender, and will be replaced by a new set of
bills. This
week, in a speech to mark Armed Forces Day, a national holiday,
Mugabe
ominously warned the population against any protests over the
difficulties
created by the currency changeover. "We want to remind those
that might turn
on the state that we have armed men and women who carry guns
and are allowed
to pull the trigger on them," he said in a speech broadcast
on state
television and radio.
Mugabe has reason to worry - but not
as a result of the efforts of the
opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), or other groups.
The most potent challenge to
Mugabe's continued rule is the sorry state of
Zimbabwe's economy, which has
shrunk by 40% in the past eight years and is
currently battling inflation of
more that 1,000%, the world's highest.
Zimbabwe's people, who have gone
from relatively prosperous to impoverished,
are growing palpably
dissatisfied. They are not happy to have to lug ever
larger satchels of
increasingly worthless currency to buy what little is
available in the
shops.
Apparently even the aloof and isolated president can feel their
restive
alienation from his government. That is why Mugabe and his economic
guru,
central bank governor Gideon Gono, devised the plan to issue a new set
of
currency bills with three zeroes deleted. Thus a Z$50,000 note will
become a
Z$50 bill but the value will be the same - less than 50
pence.
The redenominated currency will make it easier for calculators and
cash
registers to add up sums, but it is not a solution to Zimbabwe's
hyperinflation. Harare economists predict inflation will reach 2,000% by
year's end, and that will quickly add the zeroes back on to the
currency.
Even though the government is trying to ameliorate the
situation by issuing
the new currency, the heavy-handed way the switch is
being implemented is
increasing people's anger. The government has set a
surprisingly strict
limit on how much old currency a person can convert into
new currency per
day. One person can deposit Z$100 million (worth about £88)
into a bank
daily in order to receive the new currency.
Police have
taken this rule to mean that they can confiscate the cash of
anyone carrying
more than Z$100 million, despite the fact that there is no
law limiting how
much cash anyone can hold. Many people must pay school
fees, for instance,
that are more than Z$300 million, yet if they are
stopped at a police
roadblock, any cash they carry above Z$100 million will
be seized. People's
bags and belongings are being rifled at the roadblocks
which ring Harare,
Bulawayo and other cities. More than Z$11 trillion has
been seized and
people have been jailed for insulting Mugabe, according to
the state-run
Herald newspaper.
As the August 21 deadline comes closer, people are
becoming frantic to spend
their old currency before it becomes
valueless.
In addition to the currency crisis, Zimbabweans have many
other troubles.
There is a serious shortage of the country's staple food,
maize, as well as
shortages of fuel and electricity. Mugabe blames the
country's spiralling
economic problems on the British and American
governments and other western
powers. He says they are punishing him for
seizing white-owned farms six
years ago. But economists and, crucially, most
ordinary Zimbabweans hold
Mugabe responsible for the economy's drastic
decline. No wonder Mugabe
appears anxious.
