150% increase in fuel prices Zimbabwe

[shooter]

“Mnangagwa’s announcement of a 150% increase in fuel prices was greeted with shock in Zimbabwe, where unemployment is estimated at 80%. The price was increased from US$1.34 for a litre of petrol to US$3.31 with diesel surging to US$3.11 per litre.”

According to Reuters, Zimbabweans accuse President Mnangagwa of failing to live up to pre-election promises to kick-start growth, having seen their purchasing power eroded by rampant inflation.


HARARE – Soldiers patrolled Zimbabwe city streets on Tuesday and confrontations with angry civilians threatened to boil over, as the government offered public workers more money a day after protests over a disintegrating economy turned deadly.

A soldier stands before a burning barricade during protests in Harare, Zimbabwe, January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

 

[Eric Anderson]

Sweet Jesus. $3.31 a liter for diesel?
It is starting to creep under $2.60 a gallon here in NC.

That would grind almost any economy to a halt.

 

[IvW]

That would grind almost any economy to a halt.

There is no economy to grind to a halt....they just need to cash in fuel is an easy way....

 

[Royal27]

All social media seems to have been shut down in Zim, including WhatsApp as I understand it. And rumors are that things on the ground are not good.... Like really not good....

 

[rookhawk]

The solution is actually quite simple:

Tax imports other than "essentials and raw materials", create a full tax holiday on all domestic production. Fire 75% of the civil workforce that wasn't doing anything anyway. (e.g. do you need 6 game scouts that don't have a working truck, thus they haven't been in the park doing antipoaching work in 9 months?)

In short order, the Zim economy would start to flourish as domestic production would ramp up creating employment and self reliance.

Unfortunately, none of this will work because the politicians have promised "war veterens" (that's code for communists that fought in the bush war) land, free stuff, etc. They have all been waiting for the past 40 years to get their "free stuff" and they aren't about to let that go. Nor are they going to let go their patronage jobs in government which are absurd. Mid-level civil servants in Zimbabwe make more than civil servants in the USA (when their checks get paid)...think about that. Poorest country in Africa has been paying their hundreds of congressmen equal or more than we pay US congressmen. Tell me that doesn't breed a ridiculously problematic system.

 

[Hank2211]

Internet based communication was just restored a half hour ago, afterhaving been cut off by the government throughout the country.

This mess will not be resolved easily or quickly, or, likely, without outside help. That outside help - World Bank, IMF or countries prepared to assist - will likely depend on the existence of a true democracy. It seems unlikely that the current government will be able to meet that test.

 

[spike.t]

Remember the president isn't in the country either...
https://citizen.co.za/news/news-afr...-taking-trip-to-russia-as-zimbabwe-burns/amp/

 

[Hogpatrol]

$11.77 a gallon for diesel? How does that work? Sad to say but the next occurrence in this cycle is a civil war.

 

[Hank2211]

Remember the president isn't in the country either...
https://citizen.co.za/news/news-afr...-taking-trip-to-russia-as-zimbabwe-burns/amp/

My friends there have told me there were rumours the last few days that the President would be overthrown while he was out of the country.

Apart from the fuel price issue, there is a return of inflation (although yet far from the hyper-inflation experienced in 2008), a parallel market has developed for foreign currency vis-a-vis local bond notes, and there is a shortage of cash. People who have US$ can usually find what they want, while those who don't, can't. The reality is that Zimbabwe's troubles are far from over.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Washington Post reports FastJet, the only airline serving the country, has cancelled all flights. Wonder how this will affect the hunting industry.

 

[flat8]

Miss me?

 

[spike.t]

Washington Post reports FastJet the only airline serving the country, has cancelled all flights. Wonder how this will affect the hunting industry.

Lot more airlines than them fly there....SAA. Emirates. Comair/BA. Kenya airways . And others...

Just realised you might mean internally.....

 

[Hank2211]

Buddy of mine from Bulawayo is meeting me in Cameroon . . . just emailed to say he is getting on the flight to Harare. Oddly, I'm having more problems with my flights than he is!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Lot more airlines than them fly there....SAA. Emirates. Comair/BA. Kenya airways . And others...

Just realised you might mean internally.....

Spike.t , I stand corrected, I misquoted and misunderstood what was stated in the article. Sorry about any confusion.
Here's what they printed:

"Late Monday, Fastjet, one of the few airlines still serving Zimbabwe, canceled its remaining flights to and from the country".

 

[rookhawk]

Spike.t , I stand corrected, I misquoted and misunderstood what was stated in the article. Sorry about any confusion.
Here's what they printed:

"Late Monday, Fastjet, one of the few airlines still serving Zimbabwe, canceled its remaining flights to and from the country".

So this is an important nuance to understand.

From what I understand, you have domestic carriers and you have international carriers. Zimbabwe, being a closed nationalist society, does not allow international/foreign carriers to fly domestic routes in Zimbabwe whatsoever.

What does that mean? It means that you can use SAA Skylink to fly from Jo'burg to Bulawayo and back, but SAA cannot fly you from Harare to Bulawayo, or Bulawayo to Vic Falls. Thus, if you want to get around Zimbabwe you're going to have to fly out of the country, connect, and then fly back into the country in order to use the international carrier's routes that are permissible for transportation.

Last time I flew domestic in Zimbabwe was with Air Zimbabwe. Because Air Zimbabwe had no safety ratings, was not performing mandatory maintenance, and did not have IATA international certifications for their runways/airstrips, international purchases of tickets were blocked by IATA. Thus, I couldn't purchase a ticket in the USA or elsewhere but instead had to have a local Zim citizen run to the airport and purchase tickets in US dollars to circumvent the ban on ticket purchases. I haven't followed the saga of Zim's airlines since this point, but I remember it was a white knuckle experience because they had no backup aircraft and one of the three 737's was broken without money for repairs, and Mugabe and his staff frequently would seize hold of the planes for personal/government use without notice, leaving passengers stranded.

Bottom line, Zimbabwe is an absolute mess. The odds of a trip going wrong there are incredibly high at the present.

 

[BRICKBURN]

There is no economy to grind to a halt....they just need to cash in fuel is an easy way....

Best have a locking gas cap on your vehicle.

 

[JakeH]

View attachment 263958

Miss me?

I know next to nothing about the politics of Africa, however I have seen this floating around lately...

 

[BRICKBURN]

I think ground transfer rates just went up.

 

[rookhawk]

I think ground transfer rates just went up.

Hell, filling up the bakkie with diesel triples its resale value!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Zimbabwe: 8 Killed and 200 Detained in Crackdown On Fuel Price Protests
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-re...nd-200-detained-crackdown-fuel-price-protests


Zimbabweans found themselves unable to access internet services Tuesday morning, the second day of a country-wide 'Shutdown' called by the man labour union in response to fuel price hikes.


THE country's largest telecoms company Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, confirmed Tuesday that the government ordered suspension of the internet across all networks after violent protests against the embattled administration.

"This morning I was informed that the authorities in Zimbabwe have directed that all Internet services be shut down," Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa revealed on Facebook.

https://www.newzimbabwe.com/econet-confirms-govt-directive-to-block-internet-masiyiwa-says-opposition-could-have-repealed-law-during-gnu/

"African governments too often use internet disruptions as a tool to stifle the free flow of news and commentary," she said.

Zimbabwe is the fourth country after Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gabon and Sudan to shut down the internet this year.