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Africa Subsaharan
Attention Shoppers - Mugabe's price cuts set to rebound
2007-07-16
Zimbabweans are shopping like there's no tomorrow.
Because there isn't.
With police patrolling the aisles of Harare's electrical shops to enforce massive government-ordered price cuts, the widescreen TVs were the first things to go, for as little as R283 ($40). Across the country, shoes, clothes, toiletries and different kinds of food were all swept from the shelves as a nation with the world's fastest shrinking economy gorged itself on one last spending spree.

Car dealers said officials were trying to force them to sell vehicles at the official exchange rate, effectively meaning that a car costing R212 000 ($30 000) could be had for R425 ($61) by changing money on the black market. The owners of several dealerships have been arrested.

President Robert Mugabe's order that all shop prices be cut by at least half, and sometimes several times more, has forced stores to open to hordes of customers waving thick blocks of near worthless money given new value by the price cuts.

The police and groups of ruling party supporters could be seen leading the charge for a bargain.

Mugabe has accused business interests of fuelling inflation, running at about 20 000%, to bring down his government. A hotline is in place to report "overcharging", and retailers who flinch at slashing prices are being dragged before the courts. Several thousand have been arrested for "profiteering" over the past week, including the chief executives of the biggest retailers in the country, some of them foreign-owned.
Balance of this kak can be found at the link.
Posted by:Besoeker

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Posted by: Skunky Glins5285   2007-07-16 15:12  

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Posted by: M. Murcek   2007-07-16 10:14  

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Posted by: Lanny Ddub   2007-07-16 07:53  

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