The government withdrew the licences of all private slaughterhouses on Wednesday, accusing them of defying orders to reduce meat prices by 50% in the state’s attempts to rein in rampant inflation.
Industry Minister Obert Mpofu said the Cold Storage Company (CSC), part owned by the government, was given sole responsibility for slaughtering livestock, state radio reported.
Private abattoirs dotted around the country served small-scale local pig and cattle producers unable to transport livestock to CSC facilities in regional centres.
Their closure was expected to worsen already severe meat shortages.
”Abattoirs were granted licences to provide a service to the public which they are no longer providing,” Mpofu said.
Some had stopped buying animals from local producers, he said.
But in an earlier statement, CSC reported its production was down because farmers were reluctant to sell livestock at prices reduced by at least half ordered in a government June 26 edict affecting all goods.
Farmers said CSC buyers offered as little as Z$3-million — which at the official exchange rate is worth $200, but at dominant black-market rates is worth $25 — for cattle valued at up to Z$12-million a head ($800) at official rates; ($92 at black-market rates) used for meat packs known as ”economy beef”.
Bigger reductions were demanded on pedigree beef cattle.
”They are telling me I’m worth a huge amount less than I thought I was worth. Hard work, feedstock problems and everything else, I am insulted,” one farmer said.
He said he was told it was his ”national duty” to sell his livestock. He asked not to be identified for fear of incrimination.
”They must think I’m crazy.”
Police and government inspectors continued to arrest traders and businessmen accused of selling goods at above stipulated prices.
At least five second-hand car dealers joined scores of executives and company directors arrested since Friday. Most have been released after being fined both as individuals in their private capacity with their companies also paying penalties.
State radio said on Wednesday a senior magistrate in the second city of Bulawayo warned businesses that courts would impose jail terms for offenders and profiteers who could easily afford fines.
Panic buying
Shelves in stores across the country remained bare of cornmeal, bread, meat and other staples.
Factories, stores and gas stations were unable to replace materials sold at below the original cost since June 26. The sudden drop in prices has sparked panic buying, stampedes and near-riots by impoverished Zimbabweans.
Since the operation was launched, at least 1 768 business people have been arrested countrywide while 1 328 companies have appeared in court and ordered to pay fines ranging from Z$70-million to Z$100-million. Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said the crackdown was ”not a gimmick and will be sustained at all costs to stop consumers being ripped off.”
Official inflation is running at 4 500%, the highest in the world, though independent financial institutions estimate real inflation 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 longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe.
OK boss arrested
OK Zimbabwe chief executive Willard Zireva has been arrested on 41 charges arising from accusations that two of the retail chain’s supermarkets failed to freeze prices at June 18 levels, the Zimbabwe Herald reported on its website on Thursday.
Zireva’s arrest came as police in Harare impounded 49 commuter buses and arrested their drivers for overcharging.
In Harare, fuel shortages worsened and commuter bus operators ignored orders to slash their fares and abandoned some routes. But as the cold winter dusk fell, buses cruised past crowded downtown bus stops demanding fares even higher than those before the price cuts from commuters who managed to get to work and were anxious to go home to the capital’s satellite townships.
”Don’t pay, don’t go,” said a fares tout, speaking in the local Shona language and keeping a watchful eye for police.
Mpofu said the government would cancel the licenses of bus owners flouting its rules on fares. Fuel, subsidised to half the importation cost, was being made available to transporters, he said.
Commuter fares have been pegged at Z$10 000 for journeys under 10km, Z$15 000 for distances of between 10,1km and 20km and Z$20 000 for up to 30km.
Mandipaka said bus operators would be brought before the courts to answer charges of flouting price control regulations.
”We have arrested at least 49 drivers and impounded their vehicles after we rounded them up in Harare for overcharging,” he said.
The drivers were being held at Mbare police station.
Zireva was arrested on allegations that some of his supermarkets had not reduced prices to June 18 levels.
He was picked up from his Glen Lorne home. Zireva — who faces 41 counts of overcharging — is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
The charges arise from investigations at OK supermarkets in Mbare and Glen Norah, but police were spreading the net to OK supermarkets countrywide. Zireva was on Wednesday night still detained at Marlborough Police Station. – Sapa-AP, Sapa