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Mugabe Stages Terrorist Attack on the Economy and Enviroment of His Own Country
EFLFrom National Post in Canada "Hunters" from South Africa are buying "licences" that allow them to strip the area of its remaining game. A South African newspaper reported one "hunter" bragged of bringing back 400 zebra skins from a single trip. Slaughtering animals on this scale would never be allowed in South Africa, but with little law -- and less enforcement -- in Zimbabwe, there is nothing to stop it. That policy doesnât strike me as ecologically sound. Didnât they learn from Lion King when the hyenas ran the country? Wanton killing is not good for the circle of life. Donât they have a Green Party there? Much of the land in question used to be owned by white farmers, but was seized by Robert Mugabeâs government for redistribution to landless blacks. Some blacks, in turn, have been forced to give up their new stakes to cronies of Mr. Mugabe. In any case, nobody is growing much of anything, thanks to the general collapse of Zimbabweâs economy. So selling licences to kill off the countryâs irreplaceable wildlife is a welcome opportunity to turn a buck. Calling Captain Planet. Gaia is in danger. Thanks to inflation, they have to carry almost five times as much money as they did a year ago to make the same purchases. A loaf of bread is more than Z$1,000 (about US$1), a 35-litre tank of gasoline about Z$70,000, on the rare occasions gas is available. Just yesterday the government hiked gas prices 60%, barely a month after tripling them. But what about the deficit? Is the deficit OK? Until two years ago, the highest denomination bill was Z$100. In 2001, a Z$500 bill was introduced, but there were so few of them in circulation, a trip to the grocery store meant a mad scramble to come up with enough dirty, worn-out bills to make the purchase. Must be tough for the kids to calculate the answers to story problems without using expodentials. Yesterday, the government introduced bills in Z$1,000 denominations, despite reports it was having trouble finding a foreign firm willing to print the notes because it couldnât afford to pay. With inflation still rising, even the new denomination wonât help much; one local commentator said Z$50,000 notes would have been more useful. In August, the government started introducing internal "travellerâs cheques" in place of cash, but many stores rejected them and they didnât really catch on. So this week the Central Bank began issuing "bearer cheques," which are more easily printed and can be used in place of cash. The cheques are only good for six months, which authorities maintain will prevent hoarding. But they are also easily counterfeited, forcing shops to set up "cheque-checking desks" to sort out whether theyâre real. It is not clear how people will react as the six-month deadline nears and everyone scrambles to get rid of the cheques before they become worthless. Zimbabweâs government, which never admits anything is its fault, insists the cash shortage is the result of hoarding. The logic of this argument is hard to follow: With the currency becoming less valuable by the minute, holding on to large quantities is surely the last thing anyone would want to do. A lot of money is also said to be "externalized" -- taken out of the country to trade for foreign currency in neighbouring Zambia or Mozambique, with the foreign currency then being sold at a big mark-up back in Zimbabwe. But why anyone in Zambia or Mozambique would want useless Zimbabwean dollars is never explained. One industry that is thriving from the crisis is the black market. Unable to meet demand, most banks refuse to hand out more than Z$2,000 or Z$3,000 at a time, forcing people to turn to freelance dealers for help. The government maintains these operations are another cause of the shortage -- illegal dealers need to keep large amounts of money on hand -- and has introduced regulations making it a crime to carry more than Z$5-million. Police have the authority to stop and strip anyone they suspect of having that much money hidden on them, though it would require secreting 5,000 of the new Z$1,000 notes. Note to GITMO translators - customs is even tougher in Bobâs country. It sounds like a lot of money, but at the official rate it comes to about C$7,000. On the black market it would fetch just C$1,750. Bob was right. There is a black market for his currency. By this time next week, it will be worth even less. Iâm not a big recall guy, but this guy needs to be stopped. Hopefully his citizens will take care of him before its too late. South Africa has no intetions of stopping this travesty. Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-02 |
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