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Tsvangirai's tour cut short
02/08/2007 07:19 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai found himself between bare shelves when he toured shops in Harare on Wednesday after a six-week government crackdown on businesses accused of profiteering.
Tsvangirai invited the media to witness his tour of supermarkets in central Harare and the suburbs of Mufakose and Glen View, but it was cut short and a planned press conference was cancelled after he became involved in a confrontation with the wife of army chief Constatine Chiwenga.
Witnesses said Jocelyn Chiwenga flew into a rage when opposition officials met her shopping at a wholesaler and she called the opposition members "detractors" seeking to bring back white rule.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said: "The tour has confirmed there are no basic commodities in the shops and this is evidence of the collapse of governance in Zimbabwe."
'The black market is prospering'
Chamisa said: "The effects of the crackdown are all negative. People are spending their valuable time queuing for scarce commodities."
Zimbabwe's Industry Minister Obert Mpofu ordered businesses to halve the prices of their goods and services claiming some businesses were colluding with veteran President Robert Mugabe's foes in the West to plot his downfall.
Retailers and manufacturers, grappling to cope with an inflation rate now believed to be well above 5 000%, had been raising their prices several times a day until the government ordered prices to be cut in half on June 26.
Several thousand retailers and manufacturers had been arrested since the launch of the blitz on June 26, most of whom had been slapped with fines.
Manufacturers had said the government-imposed prices meant that they were unable to cover their costs and stores were fast running out of supplies, while the black market was prospering as a result.
- SAPA
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