BBC

(for educational purposes only)

"Saturday, 26 February, 2000, 09:15 GMT

Zimbabwe energy minister resigns

No hurry: Harare petrol queues are long and slow-moving

Zimbabwe's Transport and Energy Minister Enos Chikowore has resigned because he says he has failed to solve the country's worsening fuel crisis.

"Having considered the prevailing problems, the honourable thing for me to do is to resign with immediate effect," said Mr Chikowore in his resignation letter.

He had been a minister for 18 years, and had served in the government since independence in 1980.

During his three years as energy minister, the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) has almost completely collapsed.

State-run Noczim, the monopoly fuel importer, has debts of $237m.

Oil industry sources blame the fuel shortage on a lack of hard currency and corruption by former Noczim managers.

Shooting

Most petrol stations in the capital Harare ran dry on Friday, and queues stretched for hundreds of metres at the few garages which still had fuel. Riot police were deployed to control them.

In one incident a driver fired four pistol shots at a car he claimed jumped its turn in a fuel queue.

A similar scarcity of paraffin has affected the millions of Zimbabweans who use it as their main fuel for cooking.

Heavy rains have further disrupted fuel supplies.

On Friday, the main Beitbridge crossing from South Africa was closed, after the swollen Limpopo River that divides the two countries burst its banks.

On Tuesday, Cyclone Eline heavily damaged the Mozambican port of Beira, through which 70% of Zimbabwe's fuel imports pass.

Standstill

A survey by the Zimbabwean National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) shows that business and tourism, already hard hit by lack of fuel, expects the impact to deepen in the coming weeks.

"So far the business community has lost billions of dollars as a result of the crisis," ZNCC chief executive Wonder Maisiri said in a statement.

"Business will soon come to a standstill if nothing drastic is done within the next few days," he added.

The tobacco industry said the fuel shortage would seriously hamper land preparation and this could cut next season's crop by about 20 %.

Tobacco accounts for about one-third of Zimbabwe's annual foreign exchange earnings.

On Friday BP South Africa said it had signed a deal with Zimbabwe under which BP Amoco's joint venture refinery in Durban would supply Noczim with petrol and diesel."

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), February 26, 2000

Answers

---Rhodesia, a country that was a net exporter, high per capita income for everyone by african standards, including the predominantly black population. Now-zimbabwe, another NWO basket case, including LESS freedom for everyone there than before the "revolution". Gee, all those sanctions really worked in creating another "people's paradise". Can't wait until the US is a "people's paradise", wonder when the fatcats have us scheduled for "the treatment"?

-- centralization (never@works.UN.sanctions.interference.globalist.goons), February 26, 2000.

"wonder when the fatcats have us scheduled for "the treatment"? "

Vote Gore and find out.

-- Markus Archus (apxov@mail.com), February 26, 2000.

Whites run the country, everybody has high standard of living. Blacks run country, everybody in poverty and famine in the horizon. Next basketcase SOUTH AFRICA. Then UNITED STATES. Socialism at its best.

-- fred (fred@net.com), February 26, 2000.

I'd read poor old Ian Smith (80) out of retirement was applauded by black students who said Rhodesia was far better off under his rule.

People in this coutnry still think it is wonderful that S Africa has majority rule, that is the constant propaganda thrust down everyone's throat

-- Sir Richard (richard.dale@unum.co.uk), February 28, 2000.