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/ 24 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s central bank chief pledged on Wednesday that empty shop shelves would soon be replenished as he denounced the ”anarchy” inspired by the government’s order for retailers to slash their prices in half. Gideon Gono said the availability of goods was improving after widespread shortages that he acknowledged were sparked by the blitz.
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/ 24 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s crisis has now reached the tipping point, a spokesperson for the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change warned on Tuesday as a local consumer watchdog said the cost of living had climbed 30% in a month. Most basics are now only available on the expensive black market.
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/ 22 October 2007
The Zimbabwe government has intensified a drive to expel white farmers issuing eviction orders to more farmers and threatening to arrest those who have not vacated their properties after the expiry of a September 30 deadline to do so. Fewer than 600 white commercial farmers remain in Zimbabwe.
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/ 20 October 2007
A dozen main districts of the Zimbabwean capital were without power for the fifth straight day on Saturday. The state electricity company blamed technical faults for the massive power failure. A power surge after load-shedding on Monday blew a main high-voltage supply cable, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority said.
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/ 19 October 2007
An independent Zimbabwe newspaper on Friday claimed that President Robert Mugabe has named four potential successors, and they do not include Vice-President Joyce Mujuru. The Zimbabwe Independent claimed Mugabe said that the four serious candidates to succeed him were Emmerson Mnangagwa, Sydney Sekeramayi, John Nkomo and Simba Makoni.
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/ 18 October 2007
The Zimbabwean government’s isolation from the international economic arena has forced it to turn right while indicating left. The country’s Deputy Minister of Industry and International Trade recently made a startling admission when he said that the European Union remains the troubled Southern African country’s key trade partner.
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/ 18 October 2007
A South African businessman appeared in a Zimbabwean court to face charges of attempting to smuggle three rifles and 108 rounds of ammunition, a state-run daily reported on Thursday. McCallum Douglas Wayne was arrested at Harare International Airport after he was found with the firearms and ammunition without a certificate, the Herald reported.
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/ 16 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party said on Tuesday that President Robert Mugabe’s government was escalating a violent crackdown against its members. Nelson Chamisa, spokesperson for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told journalists it was worried by increased cases of violence against its supporters.
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/ 16 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s main opposition on Monday accused President Robert Mugabe’s party of treating with disdain key talks by mounting a crackdown on its supporters. ”We continue to receive disturbing reports from across the country of violence against our supporters,” said Nelson Chamisa, the spokesperson for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
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/ 15 October 2007
Zimbabwe will not allow foreigners to own broadcasting stations but could relax rules and licence locals who have been battling to meet stringent requirements, the information minister said on Monday. ”On the issue of ownership we cannot compromise,” Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told a committee of lawmakers.
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/ 15 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s government has allowed bakers to increase the price of a loaf of bread by more than 200%, as shortages persist across the country, an official of the bakers’ association said on Sunday. On Friday, the Zimbabwean government had authorised new increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs in a bid to ease widespread shortages
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/ 12 October 2007
The Zimbabwean government on Friday authorised new increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs in a bid to ease widespread shortages that followed an order for retailers to halve their tariffs. The National Incomes and Pricing Commission announced it had approved rises of between 50% and 200% for a range of staple foods.
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/ 12 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s agricultural production is poised to plummet further amid revelations that the country has secured less than 5% of the agricultural sector’s fuel requirements for the 2007/08 season. In a development likely to hurt the key tobacco sub-sector, only 9-million litres of fuel have been acquired by cash-strapped Harare authorities.
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/ 10 October 2007
Zimbabwe will import 30 000 tonnes of wheat from its neighbours in a bid to ease widespread bread shortages of bread, the agriculture minister has announced, according to the state daily. Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo was quoted in the government-mouthpiece Herald newspaper as saying 2 000 tonnes had so far been delivered.
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/ 10 October 2007
An American citizen arrested by police in Zimbabwe and charged with smuggling was free to leave the country after paying a fine, a US embassy official said on Tuesday. Leslie Francis Howell Jr, from Florida, was arrested at Victoria Falls airport when he tried to board a plane with two pistols and 300 rounds of ammunition.
Prosecutors in Zimbabwe have withdrawn ”terror” charges against 22 opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists because of insufficient evidence, defence lawyers said on Tuesday. The activists were arrested in March as President Robert Mugabe’s government launched a crackdown on the opposition, which saw MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai severely beaten.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday called for unity among the country’s main political rivals to revive the country’s moribund agricultural sector. ”Let’s work together, all of us,” Mugabe said at a ceremony in the capital, Harare, where he commissioned a range of farming equipment to be distributed to fledgling farmers.
The Zimbabwe government said it is pressing ahead with legislation to seize a controlling share of foreign-owned mining interests in the country, the official media reported on Friday. Police also said a total of 23 585 corporate executives, store managers, traders, street vendors and bus drivers were arrested for overcharging since a prize freeze was ordered.
Zimbabwean unions have called off a teachers’ strike after agreeing to a wage deal with President Robert Mugabe’s government, which faces growing pressure from labour amid a deepening economic crisis. Thousands of primary and high school teachers went on strike on Monday to press demands for pay increases.
Zimbabwe set out Wednesday to demonstrate that Western economic sanctions were hurting ordinary people, the poor and even the unborn. In its first detailed policy statement on sanctions, the central bank disputed claims from Britain and the United States that their ”targeted sanctions” — like travel bans on top officials — did not hurt most Zimbabweans.
President Robert Mugabe renewed threats to seize foreign mining interests and businesses accused of profiteering, state radio reported on Tuesday. But the head of the central bank, Gideon Gono, warned against hasty and disruptive seizures in a country in economic crisis.
Zimbabwe’s supermarkets have run out of bread after bakers were forced to suspend their operations due to a critical shortage of wheat, shop owners said on Tuesday. ”I don’t know when we will have bread although we have been expecting deliveries since last week,” said Kassim Ngorima, a manager in a supermarket in Harare’s Avenues area.
Zimbabwean teachers have gone on strike to press demands for huge wage increases as the Southern African country battles with the fastest rising consumer prices in the world. Critics say President Robert Mugabe has plunged the state deeper into economic crisis by ordering public institutions and private businesses to stop raising wages and prices without official authority.
Zimbabwe’s central bank on Monday raised its main lending rate to 800% from 650% to tame ”angry and formidable” inflation, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said. The central bank also will launch a new currency soon to try to curtail a thriving foreign-exchange black market, he announced in a bi-annual monetary policy speech.
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/ 30 September 2007
A government report blamed constant power failures for a drastic drop in wheat production, the official media reported Sunday. A two thirds shortfall in wheat harvests was expected to worsen chronic bread shortages. Most bakeries were closed during the past week as flour deliveries dried up.
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/ 27 September 2007
Foreign-owned companies in Zimbabwe said on Thursday they were assessing the likely effects on their business of a new law forcing them to give local owners majority holdings. The Empowerment Bill, pushed through Parliament by the government on Wednesday, will give Zimbabweans a 51% stake in foreign firms, including the important mining and banking sectors.
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/ 26 September 2007
Zimbabwe has ordered 120 000 tonnes of wheat from South Africa to ease food shortages, the country’s state security minister said on Wednesday. The Southern African country, once a regional bread basket, is experiencing acute shortages blamed on President Robert Mugabe’s policies.
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/ 26 September 2007
The leaders of Zimbabwe and Iran are looking to form a ”coalition for peace” after receiving a tongue-lashing from United States President George Bush. ”The United States and its allies are so bloodthirsty they don’t want to see peace anywhere in the world,” said Zimbabwe Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga.
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/ 24 September 2007
Former Mozambican president Joachim Chissano says Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe should attend the European Union-Africa summit to exchange views on issues in his country. ”I think it will be an opportunity for the EU to discuss with President Mugabe and exchange views,” Chissano was quoted as saying by the government mouthpiece Herald newspaper.
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/ 23 September 2007
Zimbabwe’s divided opposition was pressured by international mediators into accepting the framework for next year’s elections in a move that will likely condemn it to defeat, according to analysts. The Movement for Democratic Change made a surprise U-turn last week and voted for the legislation.
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/ 21 September 2007
Zimbabwe’s information minister on Friday hit out at calls by the Archbishop of York to step up punitive measures against President Robert Mugabe’s government. Archbishop John Sentamu’s comments were misplaced and unfortunate, said Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.
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/ 20 September 2007
Zimbabwe’s Parliament on Thursday passed a compromise Bill giving veteran President Robert Mugabe room to pick a successor after the measure was watered down to curb his powers to appoint legislators. The constitutional Bill will enable Parliament to choose a successor if an incumbent president fails to finish his term.