Authorities in Zimbabwe announced the arrest of hundreds more retailers and executives as part of an ongoing price crackdown on Friday as it emerged the head of the central bank had warned against the blitz.
Among the latest arrests were four police officers accused of looting from shops, which are fast running out of stocks, while the total number of executives to have been detained was approaching the 3 000 mark.
A further 272 commuter buses had also been impounded after the operators were accused of overcharging passengers, a police spokesperson said.
”Two of our officers were arrested in Harare and two others in Bulawayo for taking advantage of the ongoing operation to steal from shops,” Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said.
”We have so far arrested 2 776 business people and shop owners who have been violating the government pricing structures since the start of the operation.”
The figure means that nearly 1 000 more have been arrested since the last tally was announced on Tuesday.
Teams from Zimbabwe’s security forces and a price-monitoring commission were deployed two weeks ago to ensure compliance after Industry Minister Obert Mpofu ordered businesses to halve the prices of their goods and services.
Mpofu accused businesses of rampant profiteering and colluding with President Robert Mugabe’s foes in the West to plot the regime’s downfall following a spate of almost daily price hikes.
Many manufacturers, however, say the government-set prices mean they cannot cover their costs and have stopped production, with inflation now believed to be well beyond the 5 000% mark.
Although the price cuts have enabled households to afford goods that had become luxuries, many analysts have warned the move will ultimately backfire as stores run dry and goods instead end up on the more expensive black market.
According to a report in a privately owned weekly, the head of the central bank is among those who believe the move will blow up in the government’s face and has compared the blitz to the United States-led invasion of Iraq.
”Let’s avoid the law of unintended consequences in the action government has taken, which will leave the country in a worse-off position than now,” the Zimbabwe Independent quoted Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono as saying in a leaked letter to the government.
Gono, one of Mugabe’s top lieutenants, said the government should ”avoid the trap of temporary victory and instant gratification that backfires with consuming return-fire from both the business community and consumers alike”.
”Let’s avoid what in contemporary strategy has become known as the US/Iraq syndrome where the US, backed by its allies went into Iraq without an exit strategy,” he added.
Mpofu, meanwhile, warned companies against trying to cut costs by reducing their workers’ salaries.
Grocery ban
Meanwhile, as shortages of basic goods worsen, Mugabe’s government has decided to ban the import of groceries for resale, it emerged on Friday.
The ban, which will come into effect on August 1, will cripple the businesses of thousands of cross-border traders who make a living out of buying and selling goods currently in short supply in Zimbabwe.
Under new government regulations published earlier this month, it will no longer be possible to import groceries like beef, butter, cooking oil, tea, flour and sugar without a permit, the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper said.
Individuals and companies wanting to import groceries will have to apply to the Industry Ministry for a permit.
Mugabe’s government has until now had little control over cross-border traders, who stock up in neighbouring countries like South Africa and Botswana and resell their stock to desperate Zimbabweans.
Because much of the trade is done from door-to-door or in flea markets, the Zimbabwean authorities have not been able to control prices at which the goods are sold.
The Zimbabwe Independent said on Friday there were stampedes in downtown Harare when police and price inspectors forced electrical shops to sell televisions at Z$2-million, down from z$50-million.
But the blitz has provoked a storm of controversy as shop shelves steadily empty and there’s no sign of restocking. — Sapa-AFP, dpa