Mugabe's speech in the dark
2005-12-07 00:24
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Special Report
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe says some white farmers will be spared under his controversial land reforms.
Zimbabwe's coalition government still has many challenges to face.
Angus Shaw
Harare - Power cuts blacked out much of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe's state of the nation address ? just as he was promising to address Zimbabwe's chronic electricity shortages.
Downtown Harare was hit by widespread outages on Tuesday, minutes before state-run radio and television were scheduled to broadcast Mugabe's speech live from the Zimbabwean parliament.
The television station ran cartoons until power was restored, about half an hour into the traditionally hour-long speech.
In his address, Mugabe promised to re-invigorate a programme aimed at identifying new energy sources, including extracting oil from coal deposits and the biological production of fuels.
Zimbabwe imports more than 30% of its electricity from its neighbours.
Power and water outages have become routine in Zimbabwe, caught in its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980.
Mugabe says Zim is 'tarnished'
The seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans, combined with four years of drought, have crippled the agriculture-based economy.
Inflation has soared to 411% and unemployment is around 80%.
Last month, the national carrier Air Zimbabwe grounded its eight planes for 24 hours when it ran out of jet fuel.
Mugabe blamed the loss-making airline's woes on mismanagement and corruption.
In his address, he also expressed concern about the soaring cost of health care, which put basic services out of reach for many.
He said Zimbabwe was tarnished by what he called "British and Anglo-Saxon imperialism" - London and Washington have been frequent and harsh critics of his increasingly autocratic 25-year regime.
The United States and European Union have imposed targeted sanctions against individuals and groups who work with Mugabe.
However, Mugabe has claimed Zimbabwe is winning back regional and international confidence.
Mugabe spoke before lawmakers, including members of a new senate elected on November 26, saying "We have shown immense progress in the face of daunting challenges?.
- AP