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Zim to press on with price blitz
SAPA-DPA
August 06, 2007

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2159742,00.html

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe vowed on Monday that his government would not back down on blanket price freezes as police announced they had so far arrested 7 500 people for overcharging.

Mugabe, who was speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said shops and businesses back home would have to reduce their prices whether they liked it or not.

Mugabe was quoted by the official Herald daily as saying: "We just had to take action against businesses that escalate prices, businesses that were bending the rules.

"Some businesses are resisting saying they will not supply goods and services, but we say you will."

Govt orders price cuts

The 83-year old head of state was in Malaysia to attend the Langkawi International Dialogue, a forum to discuss development issues.

In June, Mugabe accused the business sector in Zimbabwe of playing what he called a "dirty game" by raising prices to unaffordable levels. His government ordered price cuts of at least 50% on all goods and services.

As a result, basic commodities had disappeared from shop shelves, only to reappear on the black market at inflated prices. Butcheries and some shops had closed down, saying they couldn't afford to operate at a loss.

Thousands of desperate Zimbabweans were reported to be flocking across their country's borders to neighbouring South Africa and Zambia to buy scarce goods like milk, cooking oil and maize meal.

7 500 people held in Zim

The exodus of illegal Zimbabwean immigrants sneaking into South Africa across the Limpopo River in search of a better life was reported to have reached about 3 000 a day.

Zimbabwe's business sector said its regular price hikes were necessary to remain viable in an economic crisis marked by acute shortages of foreign currency and inflation way over 4 500%.

But Mugabe said: "It (the wave of price hikes) is coming to an end, as it must."

Police announced that at least 7 500 people had been arrested since the start of the price blitz on June 26. Most of the offenders had been fined or sentenced to long hours of community service.

Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said more than one trillion Zimbabwe dollars (worth about $670m at the government-set foreign exchange rate) had been raised in fines.
Sapa-dpa

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