As millions of Zimbabweans brace for biting food shortages, President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party has started scouting for food donations for its annual end-of-year conference, it was reported on Wednesday.
Members of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party in Mashonaland Central province have so far pledged 48 cattle and 44 tonnes of maize for the gathering, due to be held in the mining town of Bindura later this year, according to the official Herald daily.
Preparations for the conference are hotting up, with plans to revamp roads in the area, paint buildings and build hostels.
With crunch presidential and parliamentary elections due in early 2008, the ruling party appears determined to make its conference a resounding success.
The Herald newspaper said at least 4 500 delegates were expected to attend. But dire warnings of worsening food shortages could put a damper on proceedings.
On Tuesday, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) predicted 4,1-million Zimbabweans would need food aid by early next year.
Poor harvests and high prices for food could mean provinces like Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North could run out of supplies as early as next month.
Even in traditionally more affluent urban areas, one million people could need food aid, according to a report by the UN agencies.
The report blamed the food deficit on poor harvests, the HIV/Aids pandemic, Zimbabwe’s worsening economic crisis and the government’s insistence on setting low sale prices for crops, thereby discouraging farmers from production.
Power tariffs
Meanwhile, it was reported that Zimbabwe on Tuesday raised electricity tariffs by more than 50% as it battles worsening power shortages in the country and a vicious inflation spiral that has increased economic hardships.
A subsidiary of state power utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) Holdings said in a statement it was raising electricity prices for both domestic and industrial use by 50,2% and would be making further increases in line with inflation.
Zimbabwe — which has been grappling with chronic power shortages over the last two years — has suffered severe blackouts in the last few days after some of Zesa’s power generators broke down and the agency also failed to buy coal for the others.
The shortages are forcing many households in towns to resort to firewood for cooking while middle-class families are being forced to install gas and fuel generators.
Critics blame President Robert Mugabe’s controversial policies for plunging the Southern African country into a deep crisis.
Economic analysts say the government has hurt Zimbabwe’s power industry over the years by insisting on low consumer charges, which has discouraged investment in the sector and left the country with old and costly power stations. — Sapa-dpa, Reuters