Zimbabwe's claims of lowered inflation unconvincing

Zimbabwe's claims of lowered inflation unconvincing

GONO

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By Agencies

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's government Tuesday claimed it had met its target of bringing inflation down below 150 percent before the year end, releasing figures showing the rate for the 12 months to December had fallen to 149.3 per cent.

State radio said this was in line with predictions made in December 2003 by the then newly appointed governor of the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank, Gideon Gono.

The inflation rate in November stood at 209 per cent, down from an all-time high of over 600 per cent at the beginning of the year, according to the Government's Central Statistical Office.

The official figures are, however, widely disbelieved, with the Zimbabwean dollar continuing to fall against all major currencies on the black market and soaring prices for fuel, postage and telecommunications, transport, medicines, and many basics.

On the official market, the Zimbabwe dollar now stands at 6 200 to the US dollar and 8 212 to the Euro.

Mugabe claimed last week that the economy is in the midst of a "dramatic" recovery following redistribution of 5 000 seized white owned farms to black Zimbabweans, a policy which saw a massive slump in agricultural and manufacturing production, and near collapse of tourism, another traditional money-spinner. - Sapa-dpa
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