Zimbabwe

[RAMESH]

With food now in desperately short supply, four Zimbabwean men have cooked and eaten a dog, urging neighbours to do the same.


Mugabe meets business bosses


It remains to be seen however, on whether Mugabe will grant business some kind of concession on pricing. Analysts believe Mugabe is not likely to change his stance on price controls saying it is the aged leader's last election gimmick.
Other business leaders present at the meeting said executives told Mugabe that the price war was doing more harm than good to the country's already fragile economy.
Faced by escalating inflation and evident economic meltdown, Mugabe, 84, ordered prices of goods be slashed by 50% accusing firms of profiteering and conniving with former colonial power Britain to oust him from power.
Zimbabwe's economy continues to decline owing to disastrous policies Mugabe's government has implemented since independence from Britain 27 years ago.
Mugabe has also threatened to seize and nationalise firms that do not comply with his order. Already groundwork to seize firms viewed to be defiant has been laid while an empowerment bill will be enacted by parliament.
The bill will give locals a controlling stake in mining firms.
The troubled southern African nation has the highest inflation rate in the world believed to be above 5 000%. Release of inflation data has been suspended until next year, government officials said

[MASTER PAI MEI]

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[RAMESH]

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the sites i normaly checkout for african news is carte blanche,speacial asignment, all africa & sabc news, some time back mgube told shop owners they must drop all their stock prices with 50%, most of the shops got hardly nothing in it. on tv they show us zimbabwean supermarkets & all the shelves are empty.


Zimbabwe's woes set to worsen

July 17, 2007, 17:30

As Zimbabwe's economic woes worsen, there is a greater influx of its citizens into South Africa to purchase food and household goods. The numbers are set to increase as Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) says some local suppliers are likely to suspend trade with Zimbabwe.

This follows the implementation of a presidential decree which saw prices being slashed by half. There are growing fears that all shops in Zimbabwe will soon be empty and its owners will not be able to replenish stock. Amid these fears, Zimbabwean shoppers flock to South Africa and they do not mind forking out large sums.

With inflation at almost 5 000%, the Zimbabwean government maintains that slashing prices was the right thing to do. But Zimbabwean businesses are feeling the pinch. Analysts believe Zimbabwe's attempts to combat high inflation have had negative consequences. The politburo of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party says Operation Reduce Prices has been successful and it should be extended.