Posted on 05/03/2003 4:23:51 AM PDT by Clive
Dear Family and Friends,
It has gone deafeningly quiet in Zimbabwe this week. The usual early morning revving of a multitude of engines as people start their cars for work has been reduced to only one or two. The country has now completely run out of petrol and diesel and even the recent 320% increase in the price of fuel has done nothing at all to improve supplies.
According to the government run National Oil Company of Zimbabwe which has been riddled with corruption scandals, no supplies at all have entered the country for the last week and none is in the pipelines either. Zimbabwe has no foreign currency with which to pay for imported fuel and at last our suppliers have said - no money, no fuel.
This all sounds like a bit of a predictable disaster but the effect it is already having on our daily lives is enormous. We simply can't go anywhere any more, twice weekly trips to the supermarket have become once a fortnight and even that is a pretty wasted trip because, with no petrol, there are hugely reduced deliveries and so less and less food to buy - especially in small towns like Marondera.
Something as simple as collecting post is also a waste of time. Aside from the fact that postage went up from Z$30 to Z$100 for a local letter last week, and aside from the fact that the government just fired 3000 postal workers for having joined in the nationwide stay away, there is no post to collect as it's all stuck in Harare with no petrol to distribute it.
All week in our little town there have been rumours of a petrol tanker heading our way. Suddenly a deserted petrol station looks like a huge public occasion as literally hundreds of cars converge and park in massive lines along the road. Six or eight hours later everything gets back to normal and everyone disappears as it becomes clear that it was just another rumour and there isn't any petrol.
Schools re-open again next week and Richie and I will be cycling to school. He's delighted at the idea, which he sees as a huge adventure but I suspect he'll change his mind fairly quickly as winter moves in and fingers and toes freeze!
Petrol is not the only topic causing rumours, there is also much talk this week that President Mugabe is about to step down. The Presidents of South Africa, Malawi and Nigeria are due in Harare in the coming days and there is much speculation about the real purpose of their visit.
Certainly Zimbabwe is teetering on the edge of complete collapse now, there is little left for the government to seize, loot or control, there is no fuel and very little food and the population seems to have found both its voice and its courage. After the latest hugely successful three day national strike, people are champing at the bit for a huge push that would see the desperately needed changes to our governance.
Neither the opposition MDC nor the trade unions are prepared to say what or when the next call for public action will be but it seems inevitable that it will be very soon as people have simply had enough.
We've had enough of being hungry, had enough of rocketing inflation, had enough of not being able to afford anything, had enough of being pushed around and had enough of being scared. I am certainly not alone in feeling that the beginning of the end is now only weeks away.
For me the most amazing thing that happened this last week was when the Harare Mayor was suspended from his duties by Home Affairs Minister Chombo. The MDC Mayor, Elias Mudzuri was overwhelmingly and democratically elected and has become the hero of Harare. He has consistently spoken out against mis-governance, he has been harassed, intimidated and even imprisoned for standing up for the people of Harare so his suspension is undoubtedly a huge mistake and will make the restless population of the capital city even more willing to stand up for themselves.
Zimbabwe had shuddered to a stop. All eyes will be upon President's Mbeki, Obassanjo and Muluzi. We hope and pray they do not let us down again because we have had enough. Winter is coming and it will be a long hard winter of discontent.
Until next week, with love, cathy.
Sorry Kathy..........these guys are not your saviors.
I am sure that Cathy knows that, but they, especially Mbeki and Obassanjo are standing in the way of getting real help from the rest of the world.
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