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Commuter chaos in Zim
13/07/2007 17:56 - (SA)
Angus Shaw
Harare - Harare police have impounded minibus taxis and fined drivers who had not complied with government orders to cut fares, stranding commuters on the way to work, state media reported.
At least 100 taxis had been impounded since Wednesday, state radio said, in the latest crackdown since the government ordered price cuts of about 50% in response to the country's rampant inflation.
Since the order was issued June 25, consumers have wrestled over sudden bargains, staples have disappeared from grocery shelves, and chief executives have been hauled into court for failing to cut prices.
Minibus taxi drivers have been taken to court and fined between Z$400 000 (about R187) and Z$800 000 Zimbabwe dollars (about R367).
Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said drivers argued they were still buying petrol at inflated prices on the illegal black market.
"That, of course, is not a defence," Mandipaka said.
Drivers interviewed on state television said they could not get state-subsidised fuel.
Petrol stations designated to sell cheap fuel to licensed transporters either ran out of petrol subsidised to half the importation cost or were besieged by long and chaotic lines of minibuses.
Shelves in stores across the country remained bare of cornmeal, bread, meat and other staples.
Riot police were called on Thursday to a wholesale store to control a stampede of shoppers gathering up reduced goods.
Earlier in the week, the government withdrew the licences of all private slaughterhouses, accusing them of defying orders to reduce meat prices.
Restaurants and fast food outlets were also ordered to slash their prices. Police told one restaurant owner to "redesign the menu", to eliminate more expensive gourmet dishes.
Police even shut down the canteen at the Harare law courts, used by court officials, magistrates and police themselves, for failing to comply with the price order, state media reported on Friday.
Butcheries, stores, factories and gas stations were unable to replace materials sold at below the original cost since the prices edict.
'Dangerous territory'
The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, a privately owned business and political weekly, reported on Friday that central bank governor Gideon Gono expressed concerns over the prices crackdown, saying it likely would lead to wide scale closures of businesses.
Gono also likened the crackdown to the US military campaign in Iraq that was "launched into dangerous territory without an exit strategy", the paper reported.
Official inflation is running at 4 500%, the highest in the world, though independent financial institutions estimate real inflation is closer to 9 000%.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change described the price cuts as a political gimmick to shore up support for Mugabe's party.
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