Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

Gangrene !

Saturday 6th September 2008.

Dear Family and Friends,

If you come first in a running race, why would you give ninety-nine percent of the gold medal and prize money to the person who came second? The answer is obvious but as each day passes it seems the real winner, and the will of the majority of Zimbabweans is not going to be respected. The people and political party who came second in Zimbabwe's March 29th elections are simply not going to step down and their refusal to accept defeat has sent us into a dizzying collapse out of all control.

The rich are getting much, much richer; the poor are virtually destitute and the middle class has all but disappeared as Zimbabwe moves into trading in US Dollars. No one in government - winners or losers - has said or done anything to stop people charging in US dollars and all control now seems to be lost. For the last few weeks medical specialists have been charging their patients in US dollars. You have to provide hard currency (US dollar bank notes) in order to see a dentist, have an operation, receive the services of an anaesthetist and lately you even need US dollars to buy prescription medicines from pharmacies.

The trend has spread to spare parts for machines and to computer accessories and the more this US dollar trading goes on unchecked and uncontrolled so the pattern spreads. Now even locally produced goods are being charged in US dollars: meat, eggs, potatoes and milk.

As people do their own thing and while there remains a non functional government and non existent authority base, the situation grows worse and worse. We are now in a sudden greedy spiral of US Dollar inflation in Zimbabwe. A pocket of potatoes that was selling for 5 US dollars last week now suddenly costs 8 US dollars. The same is happening to meat prices and to property rentals.

For the vast majority of people who have no access to US dollars, life has become simply unbearable these last few weeks. Pensioners who have no foreign currency and cannot buy life sustaining medicines; people who are sick and in pain but cannot see dentists, specialists or undergo operations. One friend described how she took a desperately sick man with gangrene to a government hospital this week only to be told that they were not accepting any admissions as they simply have no resources : no drugs, linen, food or equipment. After much pleading, long negotiations and under the counter payments of huge amounts of money, the sick man was finally taken in. He had to provide his own bedding and linen, bandages, dressings, medication, drugs and food.

Health for all by the year 2000 has been the the clarion call of Zanu PF since they took power and yet after 28 years this is the state we are in. And still they talk of sharing power?
Until next time, thanks for reading,

love cathy