Posted on 03/04/2006 8:22:21 AM PST by blam
Zimbabwe 'has two weeks' wheat'
The price of bread rose by 30% in one week
Zimbabwe has only two weeks of wheat supply left, while citizens are faced with soaring bread prices, Zimbabwe's main milling organisation has said.
The cost of bread has risen by 30%, pushing Zimbabwe's inflation rate to more than 600%.
Zimbabwe has been in economic decline since President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms in 2000.
The government is reported to have put its security forces on alert in the rising discontent leads to protests.
David Govere, deputy chairman of the Millers Association, told AFP news agency the scarcity of wheat has meant a reduction in supplies to bakeries.
"Due to depleted stocks, GMB [state-run food distributor Grain Marketing Board] is now giving us 400 tons of wheat a week, down from 600 tons," he is quoted as saying.
Shortages of wheat could force bakers to import flour from South Africa, which could lead to more price rises.
A loaf of bread in Zimbabwe currently costs $66,000 Zimbabwean (66 US cents), having risen 30% in just one week.
President Mugabe denies that his land reform programme has contributed to the crisis, blaming the effects of drought instead.
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the situation is becoming unbearable.
"It's terrible right now because of shortages," Arthur Mutambara, leader of one of two factions of the MDC.
"Fuel is not available, commodities are unaffordable, unemployment 80%, inflation above 600%.
"It's a travesty of justice that the country has been so run down by Robert Mugabe's regime."
Food aid
Zimbabwe's leading millers - National Foods, Blue Ribbon and Victoria Foods - have shut production at most of their mills because of the wheat shortage, according to AFP.
International aid agencies say about 4.3m out of Zimbabwe's 13m people will require food aid until the next harvest in May.
The country has suffered increasing food shortages, rising unemployment and runaway inflation since the government began redistributing seized white-owned farms six years ago.
Economists say the rate of inflation could reach 1,000% by April.
Ping.
It sounds cruel, but I wouldn't lift a finger to help them. The people of Zimbabwe have to be motivated to remove this monster from office.
Looks as if it is back to Hunter / Gatherer mode.
Solves the population problem, doesn't it?
Last year there was an article about how the people there were individually taking possession of different trees that would bear a crop. They had not even bothered to collect it before.
This is a real government induced tragedy.
Uh-oh. Elephants, watch your six.
Quick, someone call the UN, I am sure there are some little girls just begging to be raped and that is after all what the UN does best.
When Robert Mugabe hasn't eaten for 48 hours, then call me and ask if I will contribute. Until then, not a dime.
And you KNOW when that will occur..............
That's too bad. We need to help those poor people, after the regime change. Or maybe Koffi can shell out some of his oil-for-food graft for his fellow Africans.
"Zimbabwe has been in economic decline since "
Wow that's sort of like saying your airplane is in decline when the nose is pointed at the ground with the mixtures rich and the throttles to the firewall!
Not a good sign! Winter is comeing down there and they are out of food already! I wonder how mild their winters are there?
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate Zimbabwe and gore the crap out of Mugabe again. You did an excellent job last time. Now finish the job.
Watch your six, indeed.
There was a thread last year about this. I don't recall how many weeks of wheat they had then, but it was probably also two weeks.
I'll take "When when pigs fly" for $500, Alex
The only help I'd give is granting refugee status to any farm family still alive who was dispossessed of their land. The rest of the folks have earned their reward.
The continent could have better served as a permanent laboratory for watching primitive man.
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