Zimbabwe Economy In Intensive Care Says Economist

The central police station in Gweru, capital of Zimbabwe's Midlands province, turned into a retail outlet on Monday as consumers flocked there to purchase sugar and other basic commodities which police had confiscated from stores accused of overcharging for them.

Correspondent Taurai Shava of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe reported.

Economists see no solution in sight for the country's hyperinflationary explosion of prices.

Tuesday the price of a liter of gasoline more than doubled from Z$70 billion to Z$150 billion.

Most shop shelves are empty. Bread, if one can find it, fetches up to Z$20 billion a loaf.

Sweet potatoes, now a staple, go for Z$1 trillion a bag.

Economist Tony Hawkins of the University of Zimbabwe’s Graduate School of Management calls the situation “critical” with little hope of improvement so long as the current government of President Robert Mugabe, inaugurated Sunday for a sixth term, remains in power.

Hawkins told reporter Patience Rusere that it is hard to pinpoint the inflation rate given the absence of official data, but he reckons it has reached about 10 million percent.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...