NationStates Jolt Archive


Zimbabwe's inflation rate hits record 7,634.8%

Sel Appa
22-08-2007, 18:27
LMAO! What a n00b. He looks so serious in his picture there.

Pic (http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20070817/capt.sge.lti34.170807175447.photo00.photo.default-327x512.jpg)

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070822/wl_nm/zimbabwe_dc)

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's inflation rate has leapt to a record high, official data showed on Wednesday, raising pressure on President Robert Mugabe to ease an economic crisis that foes hope will weaken the veteran leader.

Zimbabwe's inflation -- already the highest in the world -- hit 7,634.8 percent in July, reminding Zimbabweans there is no relief in sight from daily hardships including chronic food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

Mugabe has accused some businesses of raising prices without justification as part of a Western plot to oust him.

He launched a blitz on inflation by ordering businesses to freeze prices in late June. But the move exacerbated shortages, leaving shop shelves empty. The government eased some restrictions on Wednesday.

Mugabe, who remains defiant despite sanctions imposed by Western powers and criticism that his policies are to blame for the crisis, is taking new steps aimed at tightening his grip before seeking another five-year term in next year's elections.

The former hero of African liberation who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980 is embarking on what critics say is his classic strategy of condemning his Western foes to focus attention away from his economic failures.

He is pushing for a bill in parliament, which is dominated by his ruling ZANU-PF, that will give him room to choose a successor if he were to retire or parliament the power to pick a president if the current president died in office.

Mugabe, who accuses Britain and the United States of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy, is also pressing to localize foreign-owned companies through a separate bill.

The government said on Wednesday a clerical mistake had forced it to postpone to Thursday the introduction in parliament of the bill seeking to give majority control of foreign-owned firms to Zimbabweans.

Critics say the bill is reminiscent of Mugabe's controversial policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks, which may say triggered the current crisis.

DISCONTENT

Frustrations, meanwhile, are growing on the streets but a tough crackdown on the opposition has made it clear that dissent will not be tolerated.

Although Mugabe faces growing criticism from Western powers, neighboring African nations have failed to press him to enact political reforms, diplomats say.

Regional states hope mediation by South Africa between Mugabe and the opposition will ease political and economic troubles. But they have so far not produced any breakthroughs.

Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), too weak and divided to challenge Mugabe, on Wednesday accused the government of taking measures to prevent its supporters from registering to vote in next year's elections.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced this week that more than 80,000 new voters were registered between June 18 and August 17, when voter registration closed.

But Ian Makone, director of elections in the Morgan Tsvangirai-led faction of the MDC, told reporters the number of new voters was "a far cry from the hundreds of thousands of prospective voters."

"The MDC is aware of the overt machinations by the regime to steal the people's vote through a biased and opaque mobile voter registration," Makone said.

Neither the ZEC nor government officials were immediately available to comment.
Brutland and Norden
22-08-2007, 18:28
Wow. 7,634.8%? Is that per month or per day?
Khadgar
22-08-2007, 18:36
You know your economy is fucked when you're inflation is higher than a war zone's.
Corneliu
22-08-2007, 18:36
You know your economy is fucked when you're inflation is higher than a war zone's.

Indeed. Mugabe is an asshat.
Lunatic Goofballs
22-08-2007, 18:41
Best african leader since Idi Amin. :)
Corneliu
22-08-2007, 18:42
Best african leader since Idi Amin. :)

Now I know that is sarcasm as Amin was a bigger douce than Mugabe is.
Lunatic Goofballs
22-08-2007, 18:45
Now I know that is sarcasm as Amin was a bigger douce than Mugabe is.

Give him time. Mugabe is just hitting his stride. :)
Corneliu
22-08-2007, 18:46
Give him time. Mugabe is just hitting his stride. :)

Seems like it unfortunately :(
Khadgar
22-08-2007, 18:48
Seems like it unfortunately :(

Looks like he's in the early stages of setting up a one party pseudo-democracy now.
Lunatic Goofballs
22-08-2007, 18:55
Looks like he's in the early stages of setting up a one party pseudo-democracy now.

The really fun part will be when he starts giving himself increasingly grandiose titles and renaming geographical features after himself. :)
Khadgar
22-08-2007, 18:55
The really fun part will be when he starts giving himself increasingly grandiose titles and renaming geographical features after himself. :)

He could name bread after his mother. Gods that was funny the first time.
Sel Appa
22-08-2007, 19:10
Best african leader since Idi Amin. :)

Amin declared he had beaten the British and conferred on himself the decoration of CBE (Conqueror of the British Empire)

The really fun part will be when he starts giving himself increasingly grandiose titles and renaming geographical features after himself. :)
He could name bread after his mother. Gods that was funny the first time.

Rofl
Vetalia
22-08-2007, 19:12
Well, let's see: If the government says it's 7,634.8%, that probably means the real rate of inflation is in the 15,000 to 20,000% range.
New Stalinberg
22-08-2007, 19:14
I really wonder how this makes Ian Smith feel.
CthulhuFhtagn
22-08-2007, 21:49
And now to convert a dollar to whatever the hell Zimbabwe uses and wait for inflation to fall.
Khadgar
22-08-2007, 21:56
And now to convert a dollar to whatever the hell Zimbabwe uses and wait for inflation to fall.

It won't fall, Zimbabwe will.
United Chicken Kleptos
22-08-2007, 22:00
LMAO! What a n00b. He looks so serious in his picture there.

Pic (http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20070817/capt.sge.lti34.170807175447.photo00.photo.default-327x512.jpg)

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070822/wl_nm/zimbabwe_dc)

Mugabe isn't dead? I thought he was killed off a while ago!
CthulhuFhtagn
22-08-2007, 22:21
It won't fall, Zimbabwe will.

Then I'll be out of a dollar. On the other hand, if, for some reason, what happened in Iraq happens in Zimbabwe, I will get an enormous quantity of money.
Myrmidonisia
22-08-2007, 22:40
This is just so sad. It is incredible how many people don't realize that price freezes cause shortages...even as they happen.

He launched a blitz on inflation by ordering businesses to freeze prices in late June. But the move exacerbated shortages, leaving shop shelves empty.

Yet we see it advocated over and over again, and in some pretty advanced countries.
[NS]Click Stand
22-08-2007, 23:15
It won't fall, Zimbabwe will.

When is the last time a country actually "fell". Sure it's gonna get REALLY bad over there but the country will still be there the next day.

I too will put in my dollar and wait for awhile.
Corneliu
22-08-2007, 23:58
This is just so sad. It is incredible how many people don't realize that price freezes cause shortages...even as they happen.

He launched a blitz on inflation by ordering businesses to freeze prices in late June. But the move exacerbated shortages, leaving shop shelves empty.

Yet we see it advocated over and over again, and in some pretty advanced countries.

Sad that people do not learn the lessons from history.
Corneliu
22-08-2007, 23:59
Click Stand;12990089']When is the last time a country actually "fell". Sure it's gonna get REALLY bad over there but the country will still be there the next day.

I too will put in my dollar and wait for awhile.

The 1920s actually. Imperial Russia.
[NS]Click Stand
23-08-2007, 00:08
The 1920s actually. Imperial Russia.

What I meant was complete liquidation(can countries liquidate?). Sure Russia had a regime change but it stayed the same country.
Neu Leonstein
23-08-2007, 00:11
The 1920s actually. Imperial Russia.
Somalia?
[NS]Click Stand
23-08-2007, 00:19
The 1920s actually. Imperial Russia.

What I meant was complete liquidation(can countries liquidate?). Sure Russia had a regime change but it stayed the same country.
Corneliu
23-08-2007, 02:03
Click Stand;12990156']What I meant was complete liquidation(can countries liquidate?). Sure Russia had a regime change but it stayed the same country.

Going from an Imperial Government to a socialist government (still autocratic but still) is not what I call the same country.
New Granada
23-08-2007, 05:08
How was the inflation and economy of Rhodesia?
Marrakech II
23-08-2007, 05:44
Click Stand;12990089']When is the last time a country actually "fell". Sure it's gonna get REALLY bad over there but the country will still be there the next day.

I too will put in my dollar and wait for awhile.

Somalia, and it still hasn't got back up. ;)
Marrakech II
23-08-2007, 05:45
Sad that people do not learn the lessons from history.

Apparently that is just an elective course in the Zimbabwe education system.
Neu Leonstein
23-08-2007, 08:28
How was the inflation and economy of Rhodesia?
As far as I know, while it was still under white control it ran under the whole South African Federation thing, which meant a fairly stable economy for the white minority, and a lot of poverty for everyone else. There were sanctions though and guerilla warfare, which reduced living standards.

Then for a while Zimbabwe did extraordinarily well and was called the bread basket of Africa. It kept sending aid to everyone around and people had comparatively great living standards. But the usual mix of bad policies that brought down countries in Africa (fixed exchange rates followed by problems supporting the peg, protectionism etc) happened there too.

Then Mugabe went more and more insane, had his idea to reposess land, kick out the people who knew how to run a farm and portion it into agriculturally unviable slabs which went to his supporters. When that led to the supply decreasing and shortages appearing, he ordered prices. And when a government orders prices to be something, that's a little bit like trying to order a Hurricane to turn around.