2007年VOA标准英语-Zimbabwe Price Controls Wreak Havoc on Economy

By Peta Thornycroft
Southern Africa
16 July 2007

Price control measures introduced by the Zimbabwe government this month are already having widespread negative repercussions¹, with many locally owned enterprises already considering closure. But as Peta Thornycroft reports for VOA, talks between the ruling party and the opposition² continue under the mediation³ of South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Two women walk past empty bread baskets in a supermarket in Harare, Zimbabwe, 10 Jul 2007

Less than two weeks after the government ordered a price freeze, essential foods had all but disappeared from the formal economy. Shop shelves were bare of the staple⁴ maize⁵ meal, as well as beef, salt, sugar, bread, milk and cooking oil.

And almost as quickly, the impact reverberated⁶ deeper into the economy, to manufacturers. One clothing manufacturer who asked to be called Bill to protect his identity and who depends on imported raw materials, says he won't be able to afford to continue production.

Bill imports most of his raw materials, and pays for them with foreign currency he acquired on the black market, or parallel market as it is called in Zimbabwe. Even so, he says, he will very soon be unable to operate, and several hundred Zimbabweans will lose their jobs as a consequence.

"Now with the enforced prices I am going to divert a container that I had due to come into the country because if they force me to sell garments that I manufacture at prices that they dictate⁸ I am going to be out of business very soon," said Bill. "I am not going to go to jail, I will sell out what I have and I will not replace, so at the end of the day my business would have nothing to produce and would be forced to be closed."

The government says it will nationalize companies that stop production. And so many large foreign owned manufacturers with headquarters based in South Africa have indicated they intend to comply with the price controls.

Fuel has almost disappeared from the formal market in the second city Bulawayo, and is critically short in the capital Harare. Economic consultant⁹ Daniel Ndlela, says public transport is at a minimum and most workers are forced to walk long distances to get to their jobs.

"It's a nightmare now, I take walks in the morning, and you see people walking to work, walking to town, without transport, and in the evening it's pathetic to be on the roads, because there is literally¹⁰ no transport, and people are walking in a manner that is actually frightening, and you know these people will be walking for twenty kilometers," said Ndlela.

Ndlela warns that while President Robert Mugabe's price cutting exercise will destroy the private sector¹¹, and is unlikely to reign⁷ in spiraling inflation, believed to be well over 5,000 percent. He says it will not curb¹² the trading of the currency, the Zimbabwe dollar, on the black market.

"When you legislate¹³ on the final price of the product it means you have a problem; the destruction is going to be simultaneous, if retailers¹⁴ are not ordering products, the manufacturers are going to stop manufacturing; if manufacturers are not manufacturing, the producers of raw materials are going to stop production," said Ndlela.

Despite the deepening economic crisis, the regional mediation initiative, facilitated by South African president Thabo Mbeki, between the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has continued.

But veteran human rights activist¹⁵ and author Judith Todd who was involved in the liberation struggle for an end to minority white rule argues the mediation is misplaced.

"And I think the focus from the outside world is on all the wrong things, they shouldn't be talking to ZANU-PF, the instrument of our misfortune, the surrounding states should be engaging with civil society from Zimbabwe, and with the opposition, with the churches," said Todd. "Everyone should be getting together to say how do we remove Mugabe, there is not going to be an election next year there is just going to be terror, terror until more and more people drop down dead."

ZANU-PF and the MDC were last month asked by President Mbeki's mediation team to begin with a draft constitution the two parties agreed to in secret negotiations¹⁶ in 2004 as a basis for an agreement. The two parties have met four times in Harare since then. For its part the South African mediation team have agreed will come up with proposals to improve the political climate in which parties can operate in Zimbabwe .

No date for the next round of talks in Pretoria has yet been announced.

1 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

6 reverberated   

回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• Her voice reverberated around the hall. 她的声音在大厅里回荡。
• The roar of guns reverberated in the valley. 炮声响彻山谷。

7 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

8 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

9 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

13 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

14 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

15 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

16 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。