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Mugabe:
'We continue to face hostility'
Mail & Guardian (SA)
July 24, 2007
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=314844&referrer=RSS
Harare - Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday said Britain and its Western
allies had "redoubled" efforts to topple him, accusing
them of sponsoring violence to destabilise his inflation-ravaged
nation. Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980,
also defended a new policy that forces stores to cut and freeze
prices for bread, milk and other items, saying recent price spikes
had been pushed by those trying to oust his government. Zimbabwe's
inflation rate is estimated at more than 4 500%, the highest in
the world. "We continue to face hostility from Britain and
some of her Western allies," Mugabe said in a
televised address at the opening of a new parliamentary session
expected to pass radical plans to nationalise foreign firms ahead
of elections next year.
"Our detractors have redoubled efforts to achieve
regime change. The violence and other acts of lawlessness we have
witnessed in recent months, which were planned and executed in complicity
with certain Western powers, were meant to create mayhem,"
he said. The 83-year-old leader has come under growing pressure
to adopt democratic reforms since his security forces in March arrested
and beat dozens of political opponents. Rights groups say the crackdown
has continued, with anti-Mugabe activists beaten, tortured and,
in some cases, killed. Mugabe, still regarded as a liberation hero
by many Africans, on Tuesday hailed Zimbabwe's allies on the continent
as well as abroad for thwarting a bid to have the Zimbabwe crisis
taken up in the United Nations Security Council.
He also heaped praise on Zimbabwe's military for
"safeguarding the country's sovereignty with distinction".
Last week Mugabe said the army had resisted what he described as
British encouragement to stage a coup. Despite accusations that
he has plunged the once prosperous Southern African state into a
deepening economic crisis with controversial policies, including
his seizure of thousands of white-owned farms, Mugabe has vowed
to seek re-election in 2008. Zimbabwe is mired in an eighth year
of depression, marked by chronic shortages of food and fuel and
rising poverty. Four out of five Zimbabweans are unemployed, and
thousands are crossing into South Africa illegally each day to look
for work.
Mugabe, who arrived at Parliament in a convertible
Rolls Royce to cheers from supporters of his Zanu PF party, laid
the blame for the crisis on a combination of drought, Western sanctions
and sabotage by political enemies. He added that his government
had been forced to impose its price freeze to protect consumers.
"The inexplicable price and rent hikes, which were apparently
welcomed and encouraged by our regime-change proponents, compounded
the situation further and thus invited government intervention,"
Mugabe told parliamentarians. Authorities have fined and arrested
more than 4 000 business owners and companies for defying the price
freeze, which has led to frenzied buying by consumers. Many store
shelves are now empty after prices were slashed in half.
The controversial programme is set to be followed
by measures analysts say could increase uncertainty about Zimbabwe's
future and further damage its fragile economy. Parliament will consider
a proposed amendment to the Constitution giving it the power to
elect a new president if a vacancy occurred between elections. Such
a move could open the door for Mugabe to retire after the 2008 polls,
as it would allow him to influence the naming of his successor.
Investors also are carefully watching what Parliament does with
a proposed black empowerment Bill that would transfer control of
all companies, including foreign banks and some mining operations,
to Zimbabweans.
Meanwhile, the
cost of living for an average urban family in Zimbabwe surged by
nearly 50% in the last month, the country's consumer watchdog said
Tuesday. The latest report by the Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) found the cost of basic goods and
services for an average family of six rose from Z$5,5-million in
May to Z$8,2-million dollars in June, a rise of 49%. The CCZ, however,
said the final figure fell short of earlier projections as a result
of the government order for retailers to halve their prices, said
the report carried by state media.
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