 ZIMBABWE'S central bank governor rang the alarm on the country's crumbling economy this week in a frank account which analysts say shook officials by airing fears of possible food riots and political unrest.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono -- known as a Mugabe favourite -- cut through the government's usually rosy self-assessment in his monetary policy statement this week, giving a rare public warning of possible food riots and slamming bureaucratic inaction. Gono said the country's army chief was concerned and had recently warned him that the central bank had to ensure adequate food supplies for a country where millions are surviving on food aid.
President Robert Mugabe, accused by the West of pursuing hardline domestic policies, has deployed riot police to crush demonstrations since violent protests broke out against his government in 1998, and analysts say his opponents are largely cowed.
Gono said the government had finally pledged to end farm invasions by ruling party supporters -- blamed by critics for the decline in food supplies -- and to do more to respect private property rights.
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Mugabe's government is mired in its worst crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, fighting food shortages, triple-digit inflation, a jobless rate above 70 percent and shortages of foreign currency and fuel. Political analysts said Gono's stark forecast revealed deepening fears within Mugabe's inner circle.
Gono, regarded as one of Mugabe's trusted technocrats, said mineral-rich Zimbabwe had potential but needed to boost farm output, which has fallen by half since the government started seizing white-owned commercial farms six years ago. He also said Zimbabwe had to tackle graft and rebuild its ties with the international community, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which this week has an inspection mission visiting Harare.
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John Robertson, a private economic consultant and business commentator, said while Mugabe regards the IMF as a hostile institution, he has allowed Gono to try to mend fences and win crucial aid in the hope of staving off further economic decline. "I don't know whether the political fears that Gono was talking about will force the government to do more although those fears have been around for a while," he said. "But on their record, I don't think they will be able to do enough and in time" |