Our Tuesday entry for Sky News
April 3rd, 2007
We are adding an ecard feature to our website, offering ecards with Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe specifically in mind. Click here or on the image to support the ZCTU stayaway tomorrow.
Sokwanele has been asked to continue blogging for Sky News this week on The Insider Blog. The Sky audience is much wider and far more diverse than ours, so we encourage you to visit The Insider Blog and please participate in the comments and discussion being generated there.
Our Tuesday entry for ‘The Insider Blog’
March was supposed to be the first month of ‘price freezes’ imposed by Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank. This was the latest in his inflation busting gems of wisdom. The original idea was that prices and wages would be frozen for three months, beginning with March.
The announcement came with the usual threats to retailers and shop owners, saying that those who were found to be increasing their prices would be dealt with severely. But after a week or two the talk of freezes seemed to fade into the background.
Yet another ill-considered Gono idea tossed to one side. I start to wonder if these ‘ideas’ have more to do with threatening businesses in the hope that intimidation will create self-regulation.
The reality is though that the price increases are desperate efforts by struggling businesses to stay afloat.
As for Gideon Gono: the joke is that the man has “Go’no idea what to do!â€
We all talk about prices all the time. One of the more shocking increases I heard was from a colleague who bought 2kg of rice for £17 last month, but towards the end of March he saw the same rice priced at £165! He didn’t buy it.
It’s not the best example of our difficult existence because rice is very much a luxury product in our country these days.
Anticipating the price freeze, I thought I would start a log of costs of some essential items since the beginning of March. Clearly, nothing is frozen…. prices for the cheapest loaf of inferior quality bread looked like this:
28th Feb: £2
2nd March: £4.25
22nd March: £6
28th March: £6.50
And this is what happened to the price of 500ml of milk over the month (this being the smallest packet available):
28th Feb: £3.20
2nd March: £4
22nd March: £6
28th March: £6
We’ve turned into bargain hunters in a massive race against inflation. For ordinary Zimbabweans, that means bulk buying (those who can still afford to bulk buy) an item before the shop owner has realised that its price has soared through the roof while he or she wasn’t watching.
It isn’t unusual now to walk into a shop and see an entire product being quickly cleared off the shelf by shop staff. Why? Because they cannot re-price items quickly enough and they have to do something to prevent customer from buying everything at the lower price. Many of those eagle-eyed customers will be hoping to re-sell the goods themselves, to make a small profit.
I’m writing this the day before a nationwide stay away called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions comes into effect – a two-day nationwide strike. March prices have driven home the need for us all to honour the call and to stay away from work on the 3 and 4 April.
Here’s another reason why: I felt sick today when I heard, via word on the street, that ET fares (Emergency Taxis) are now about to go up to £22 per one way trip.
Those of you who read my blogs last week might remember that this time last week I spoke about how we were all struggling with the fares – they cost more than we earn.
How can low-income earners feed themselves, never mind feed, educate and clothe their children? What are the 80% unemployed meant to do?
Words fail me. I can’t describe to all of you living in wealthier countries how the panic feels, the sick feeling of fear in our stomachs, the sleepless nights when we think about our children’s future and how we can’t provide for them.
This is the real reason why we want Robert Mugabe out of power and why we want a new government. No population in the world would tolerate this level of incompetence and economic mismanagement, so why should we? And why should we be expected to withstand brutality and violence and aggression when we exercise our human right to ask for change?
How can the regional leaders ignore the reality of the issue; and that is that Mugabe has destroyed Zimbabwe, and now he is set on destroying the people who live there too?
They make me so angry and I am disgusted with the way they have failed Zimbabweans.
There is no way I will be going to work: I am honouring the stay away called for by the Trade Unions no matter what happens. We need change.
April 4th, 2007 03:17
Good for you for staying away!With those expensive prices I can only imagine how difficult things are for the average Zimbabwean on a daily basis.I can also understand the fear that prevents people from not staying away.
Canadian Television News did a piece on the Stayaway tonight.It reported that the shops were open mainly due to the climate of fear imposed by the Zimbabwen authorities.
Canadian News also reported that the Zimbabwean state run newspaper The Herald published a death threat against a British diplomat for allegedly financing the Opposition Campaign,so the news about Mugabe and his tyranny is starting to get out and getting noticed
April 11th, 2007 01:24
I am praying daily for all of you. I will continue to read and pray until everything changes.