Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe vowed on Wednesday to win next year’s elections and said nobody could ever force him into exile. ”I want to say here that I am not going anywhere. Here I was born. Here I grew up and here I shall die and will be buried,” he told veterans of the country’s 1970s war of liberation.
President Robert Mugabe, accusing the West of trying to push Zimbabwe into collapse, declared it would survive thanks to its people’s resilience and support from Africa, state radio reported on Wednesday. Mugabe said Britain, the former colonial ruler, and his opponents sought his ouster.
Zimbabwe’s state media on Wednesday called on the government to sever ties with Australia, accusing Prime Minister John Howard’s government of seeking to topple veteran President Robert Mugabe. ”There is no need to continue keeping up appearances when diplomatic ties between the two countries have irrevocably broken down,” the state-run Herald said.
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema jetted into the Zimbabwean capital on Tuesday to a red-carpet welcome at the start of an official visit, state television reported. The president of the oil-rich Central African country was embraced warmly by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Despite putting on a brave face at the annual Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, farmers in Africa’s one-time breadbasket face a bleak future as they battle power cuts, fertiliser shortages and drought. Hundreds of farmers from across the country have been gathering in the capital, Harare, since Monday for the showpiece agricultural event.
Hundreds of hard-line supporters of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe will stage a show of strength in support of the veteran president in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday, organisers said. ”The solidarity march is in support of President Robert Mugabe and his policies,” said Joseph Chinotimba of the war veterans’ association.
Zimbabwe is facing another year of food shortages as three major fertiliser manufacturers have closed due to power cuts and a lack of raw materials, state media reported on Monday. Eben Makonese, chief executive of Chemplex Coroporation, which runs the three semi-governmental firms, said they have not been able to operate since last month.
AB de Villiers smashed a stylish century as South Africa beat a battling Zimbabwe by 28 runs in the third and final one-day international at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday to sweep the series 3-0. De Villiers, promoted up the order to replace the injured Loots Bosman, hit six sixes and eight fours off 89 balls as South Africa powered their way to 323-9 off their 50 overs.
Zimbabwe’s week-long agricultural showcase kicks off Monday, despite the country’s collapsing farm industry and worsening food shortages. The Harare Show, to be opened by Equatorial Guinea dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema, will feature exhibitions including more than 100 cattle, goats, pigs, guinea fowl, rabbits and chickens.
A drop in the monthly inflation rate may have been greeted with sighs of relief by the Zimbabwean government, but analysts and consumers have seen little evidence that the economy has turned a corner. While the annual rate hit a new high of 7 634,8%, month-on-month inflation in July was lower than the June rate.
Herschelle Gibbs smashed a century and skipper Graeme Smith made 96 as South Africa coasted to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe in their second one-day international on Saturday. Gibbs made 111, his 17th limited-overs century, off 100 balls with 16 fours and two sixes at the Harare Sports Club.
President Robert Mugabe’s government introduced a Bill to Parliament on Thursday that would give Zimbabweans majority ownership of foreign companies, a move which critics say will deepen an economic crisis. If passed, it would give the government sweeping powers over how foreign companies, including mines, operate in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate leapt to a new record 7 634,8% in July, the first official price data to be published for three months showed on Wednesday. The country is in its eighth year of recession marked by chronic shortages of fuel and foreign currency, unemployment of more than 80% and the world’s highest inflation rate.
Zimbabwe has allowed businesses to raise the prices of some basic goods and services, slightly easing a price freeze that has left shop shelves empty and deepened an economic crisis. President Robert Mugabe’s government had ordered a price rollback to June 18 levels in a bid to stem inflation of more than 4 500%.
Zimbabwe’s government will table a proposal in Parliament on Wednesday to give majority control of foreign-owned firms to locals. The new parliamentary session will also debate a Bill giving President Robert Mugabe room to pick a successor if he retires. If passed, the Bills could tighten Mugabe’s grip on power.
Zimbabwe’s opposition and ruling party squared up in Parliament Tuesday at the start of a session that is set to usher in controversial changes to the Constitution ahead of next year’s elections. President Robert Mugabe is expected to get overwhelming approval for his plans to synchronise the timing of the parliamentary and presidential polls.
Zimbabwe’s government has reopened dozens of private slaughter houses to try to end severe meat shortages after it slashed consumer prices and assumed temporary responsibility for meat sales. Zimbabwe state media said on Tuesday that the government had re-registered 42 private abattoirs to try to ease beef shortages in the country.
Water shortages in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, have led to worsening outbreaks of diarrhoea with health centres treating about 900 cases per day, it was reported on Monday. So serious is the problem that city health centres have been ordered to treat diarrhoea patients for free to stop the spread of disease.
Zimbabwe’s Parliament meets for a new session on Tuesday that will consider two major pieces of legislation, one to give the president considerable sway in appointing a successor and another to nationalise foreign firms. Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980, is seeking to consolidate power in the face of growing discontent.
Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Saturday it will ”enlighten” regional leaders who have dismissed the country’s crises as exaggerated at a Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit that ended in Lusaka, Zambia, on Friday.
A Zimbabwe man stole a bus because he needed transport to pick up his driving licence, state media reported on Thursday. The Herald newspaper said Stead Mashushire waited until the driver of a bus parked in a central Harare rank had gone to buy food before ordering all the passengers out and driving off in the vehicle.
President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday decorated his top military commanders and hailed the Zimbabwean army for standing by him despite a deep economic crisis which many critics blame on his government. Addressing a rally to mark defence forces’ day, Mugabe said soldiers were playing a big role in government efforts to turn around the economy.
Zimbabwe’s embattled President Robert Mugabe vowed on Monday he would not change course because of Western opposition to his policies and instructed landlords and businesses to seek state approval for all price increases. Mugabe (83) faces an economic crisis marked by the world’s highest inflation rate of more than 4Â 500%.
Fifty-one bus drivers were arrested for overcharging this weekend in Harare as riot police were brought in to control crowds of desperate travellers, official media reported on Sunday. Thousands of would-be travellers were stranded at Harare’s main railway station, unable to catch trains for the holiday weekend, according to the Sunday Mail.
Beer deliveries resumed on Friday after the Zimbabwean government backed down on a price freeze on local lager brands and allowed producers to raise the prices of some other goods. Price cuts in Zimbabwe have left shelves bare of cornmeal, bread, meat and other basics. Businesses argued they were being told to sell their goods below the cost of producing them.
Authorities in Zimbabwe raised the official price of a loaf of bread in a bid to ease chronic shortages, state radio said on Friday. A loaf of bread will now cost ZÂ 000, up from ZÂ 000, the country’s Industry Ministry said in a statement read aloud on state radio. The price of some other basics has also been hiked, including salt, beef and cement.
After a busy day trying to survive Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, Jeffrey Ndoro likes to relax after work with a beer. Even with inflation spiralling out of control, beer had been comparatively cheap before a price crackdown by President Robert Mugabe’s government caused supplies to dry up.
Torture, assault, unlawful detention and other violations of human rights are increasing rapidly in Zimbabwe, according to a new report. The report, by the independent Human Rights Forum, highlighted the government crackdown on the country’s political opposition. Monitors said they collected evidence documenting 5Â 307 human rights violations this year.
President Robert Mugabe’s government has warned it will arrest white Zimbabwean farmers resisting evictions from new land targeted for black farmers, state media reported on Wednesday. Industry and union officials say about 600 of Zimbabwe’s 4Â 500 white farmers have kept their land after the sometimes violent grabs by Mugabe’s supporters.
Thousands of Zimbabwean commuters were on Tuesday stranded throughout the country as fuel shortages reached crisis proportions, state media reported. People in Harare are spending up to four days looking for buses to take them to rural villages ahead of a public holiday next week, ZBC radio said.
Zimbabwe’s tortuous economy has been causing headaches for companies listed on the local stock exchange, it emerged on Tuesday, particularly on the question of how one calculates inflation-adjusted half-year results if no one knows what the true figure is. The state-run Central Statistical Office stopped releasing official inflation data three months ago.
At least 7 600 shop managers and business executives in Zimbabwe have been arrested in a crackdown on businesses accused of profiteering, police said Monday, as President Robert Mugabe vowed to continue the blitz. ”The latest update is that 7 660 people have been arrested countrywide,” police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said.