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| Africa Subsaharan | ||
| Zimbugabe freezes wages, rents, service fees | ||
| 2007-09-01 | ||
ZimbabweÂ’s government slapped a six-month freeze on wages, rents and service fees on Friday, the latest step in what some analysts call an increasingly desperate campaign to sustain an economy gutted by hyperinflation. Even as President Robert G. Mugabe declared the freeze, however, Zimbabwean newspapers suggested that the governmentÂ’s two-month-old drive against inflation had backfired by drying up tax revenues needed to run the government.
The freeze follows a Most commodities are now available only on the black market, where prices have continued to skyrocket. Moreover, as the last remaining stocks of goods trickle out of factory warehouses and onto the market, Zimbabwe could soon see the start of an inflationary spiral that would make today’s prices seem cheap, John Robertson, a Harare economist, said in an interview. “It could go much higher — 10 times as much for some things in the next couple of weeks, as goods cease to exist,” he said. Mr. Robertson said idle producers had been forced to lay off workers to cut costs, cutting the government’s payroll tax receipts, and that sales-tax revenues were plummeting because stores had little to buy.
The Zimbabwe Independent, one of the few newspapers not under government ownership, reported that the price cuts had cost the government 13 trillion Zimbabwe dollars in lost tax revenue. At current black market rates, that totals about $55 million — a vast sum for a government that is already technically bankrupt. The government continues to function by printing money to pay its bills, but as the currency has dwindled in value, state workers have increasingly demanded regular raises. Zimbabwe’s 100,000 teachers, all government employees, have been threatening to strike if their pay is not increased. The military, which is among Mr. Mugabe’s most reliable supporters, is also asking for wage increases for soldiers. A report issued this week by the Parliament’s defense and home affairs committee warned that the military was running out of money to pay foreign suppliers and maintain its infrastructure. | ||
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #5 Betcha Zim Bob isn't short ANYTHING. Remember the old saying, "Nothing's impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it". |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-09-01 14:45 |
| #4 At least Zimbob is doing something about globall warming by freezing the economy.... |
| Posted by: Phinater Thraviger 2007-09-01 14:17 |
| #3 Directive 10-289: Point One: All workers, wage earners, and employees of any kind whatsoever shall henceforth be attached to their jobs and shall not leave nor be dismissed nor change employment, under penalty of a term in jailÂ… Point Two: All industrial, commercial, manufacturing, and business establishments of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth remain in operation, and the owners of such establishments shall not quit, nor leave, nor retire, nor close, sell or transfer their business, under penalty of the nationalization of their establishment and of any or all their property. Point Three: All patents and copyrights, pertaining to any devices, inventions, formulas, processes, and works of any nature whatsoever, shall be turned over to the nation Â… the Unification Board shall then license the use of such patents and copyrights to all applicants, equally and without discrimination, for the purpose of elimination monopolistic practices, discarding obsolete products and making the best available to the whole nationÂ… Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged |
| Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds 2007-09-01 13:28 |
| #2 ..."Women, Minorities, Farmin B. Hard hardest hit" |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-09-01 12:05 |
| #1 African Revolutionary Communist excellence! If you're determined to drive your country into the ground like a tent stake, why go light when you can use a sledge hammer? How long before even the Army revolts? I've got 1 month in the Bob Pool |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-09-01 12:04 |