South African companies affected by a clampdown on business on Zimbabwe have not made complaints to Pretoria’s mission in Harare, the Foreign Affairs Department said on Monday.
”If indeed they are faced with this critical situation, they need to get in touch with the embassy in Harare and inform them of their plight,” said spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
”They are obliged to provide assistance to South Africans in distress abroad. At this stage, however, there are no reports of any South African companies having raised concern.”
Mamoepa reiterated that Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad had said earlier this week he was concerned about the reported deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe.
Earlier in the day, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio news reported that the Edgars clothing chain had halved its prices in Zimbabwe after one of its executives was arrested.
”It’s business as usual with all goods selling at half price,” Mark Bauer, an executive of the Edcon group, said on Monday.
Bauer said the executive had been arrested on Friday after having tried to have other employees released for ”ticketing too slowly” when changing price tags.
The executive was released on Saturday afternoon.
Edgar’s financial director Adam Esats and chief executive in Zimbabwe Charles Ganga had been arrested.
Two executives from Innscor, Michael Fowler and Zed Koudanaris, were also arrested. Innscor owns the fast-food outlets Chicken Licken and Nando’s.
The SABC said 328 businesses had been fined R40 000 each.
According to other reports, Zimbabwean police have arrested more than 1 300 shop owners and business executives for defying the government’s order so far.
Seventeen leading business people were arrested at the weekend, including supermarket and petrol station owners.
Last week, price inspectors and police began visiting shops countrywide ordering prices down, sometimes by as much as half, in a blitz dubbed Operation Reduce Prices.
State radio was reportedly calling on war veterans, youth militias and the Zanu-PF Women’s League to report to party headquarters, where they were expected to be asked to help inspectors, police and other state agents check on businesses, the report added.
No gimmick
The Associated Press reported business owners saying the price cuts made their operations unviable. Some stores have been forced to close their doors with no deliveries of basic foods.
Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said on Monday the crackdown was ”not a gimmick and will be sustained at all costs to stop consumers being ripped off”, Zimbabwe state radio reported.
Mandipaka appealed to rural villagers and farmers ”to complement government efforts by reducing prices of cattle so butcheries can operate viably”.
Cattle herds already have shrunk drastically since the often-violent seizure of thousands of white-owned farms disrupted the agriculture-based economy in 2000.
It was unlikely villagers and black farmers resettled on former white-owned land would heed Mandipaka’s appeal.
Live goats were being sold in Harare but goat meat has not appeared in butcheries and supermarkets.
Official inflation is running at 4 500%, the highest in the world, though independent financial institutions estimate it is closer to 9 000%.
The government accuses business leaders of being part of a political and economic campaign of ”regime change” to bring down President Robert Mugabe. – Sapa