Inflation, roads, eggs and Robert Mugabe

The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair came to a close yesterday. I laughed because rather than celebrating huge deals, the State Press has given more column inches to moaning about the price hikes at hotels in Bulawayo, saying:

During ZITF, hotels have a tendency of hiking their charges and this is like killing the goose which lays the golden egg. This time around they increased their rates from about $2,2 billion to $18 billion for a three star hotel.

The reaction to the prices by the state?

..three general managers of leading hotels and 15 lodge operators in Bulawayo were nabbed [sic] during the fair for increasing their rates without approval of NIPC [National Incomes and Pricing Commission].

For those who don’t know, the rough description of how the above arrests could come about is because the government attempts to control inflation by forcing people to sell products at prices dictated by the government. Unfortunately for the people trying to run businesses, the Zanu PF government lives in cloud cuckoo-land and pretends inflation is never as bad as it really is, and their dictated prices most often do not cover basic costs of production.

Businesses that comply with the price controls find themselves selling at a loss and consequently end up having to shut down. Which brings in the next bit of ‘inflation control stick’ from the government; namely, the threat that any business that cannot survive by selling at the prices they dictate will be taken over as ‘failed businesses’ and given to someone else to run. Businesses are therefore backed into a corner with zero support or solutions from the government.

Most people flout the controls – they have to – and the economy is driven deeper underground into the blackmarket with quiet deals made under the counter.

Inflation has been going crazy in the last week – all prices have been skyrocketing. I have huge sympathy for the three hotel managers who were arrested last week for overcharging, because my own experience tells me that the prices for their breakfasts (included in bed and breakfast rates) probably increased by over 100% in a single day. I say this because the price of eggs went up from Z$100mil to Z$210mil in just one day. How are they supposed to accommodate inflation like that and stick to state-dictated pricing?

In one shop I gasped when I saw the price of yoghurt (yoghurt is a luxury that not many – including me – can afford anymore and I doubt this is included in hotel breakfasts anymore). The shop owner was in despair while explaining it to a customer who was bitterly complaining. The customer had previously paid Z$40mil for yoghurt in this shop. The owner said that when he went to re-stock the yoghurt, the next batch came in at Z$95mil wholesale. He was explaining that with tax and his profit margins the best price he could pass it on the customer was for Z$145mil. So you can work out for yourselves the increase in price and the reason for the customer’s annoyance.

The shop owner went on to explain that he would no longer be selling yoghurt at all because with that sort of price on it, he only need to have two or three tubs left on the shelf – unsold and spoiled – to put him out of business.

This is a dairy-product we’re talking about, not gold or real estate. But the smallest things can be the tipping point these days.

In a nutshell, this is why Mugabe and Zanu PF have got to go. This – their failure to manage the economy – is the reason why they were voted out. The narrative about Britain and re-colonisation is the biggest load of rubbish ever. No one who lives in Zimbabwe even thinks about that; we just need to eat and we need a government capable of ensuring there is affordable food in the country. We voted for the same things that bother everyone in every other part of the world: food, health, education, homes, jobs.

Against this reality, we had the Trade Fair going on perpetuating a smoke and mirror myth that Zimbabwe, under Zanu PF, is a country that can effectively trade with the world.

The lie of that is symbolically represented to me in the state of the roads. One road, just outside the Trade Fair, has had its pot-holes filled and lines re-painted. But drive onwards and turn off into town and you hit cavernous holes and traffic lights that don’t work while you have to play dodgems with oncoming traffic that is swerving to avoid the holes in their side of the road.

Who is Zanu PF trying to fool? Because we the people are not fooled, and surely even the people who came to set up stands at the fair have to leave the one smooth road at some point and see the road for the lie it is.

I actually find it highly amusing, because it has little to do with me; but if I were a Zanu PF supporter I’d find this kind of stupidity humiliating and depressing. Is this the best solution they have?

And that might explain why they too voted away from Zanu PF in the last elections.

None of this is a negative comment on the ingenuity and capacity of Zimbabweans to work hard and succeed in business. If the one road outside the Trade Fair represent Zanu PF’s blinkered attitude to the economy and their capacity for lies and decpetion, then the roads in our country also showcase Zimbabwean ingenuity and potential for a positive future.

The potholes have presented smart youngsters with a money-making scheme. They fill the holes with sand and then clamour for tips when cars slow down at intersections. The sand doesn’t last long, but they are there to re-fill them and we need them filled and I try to give them money when I can.

I admire their cheekiness and ingenuity and I long for that kind of bright engaging bold mind to have an education and to be put towards re-building our country.

We have won the elections and despite the grotesque violence in our country at the moment its very hard for me to imagine that Zanu PF or Mugabe could continue in power for much longer. We all know we won and the contempt for Zanu PF and their actions is openly expressed now. I don’t believe Zanu PF will ever be able to put the lid on our scorn and disgust ever again.

On Friday Robert Mugabe came to the Trade Fair. The whole town knew he was about to arrive because there were hoardes of black Mercedes Benzs suddenly around. I was in another queue at one point in the day and people were trying to speculate which car Bob was in: “You’d never be able to tell”, said one person, “because the car windows are all so dark”. The chat continued backwards and forwards until someone at the back retorted loudly: “Oh who cares which car he is on; he’s history. Forget about him”.

And there was a chorus of agreement and approval amongst strangers.

This entry was posted by Hope on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 1:35 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.