inflation

A million dollars for a stale bread roll

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:24:45 +0100

Prices double from one hour to the next in Zimbabwe. One of our Observers told us that if you haven't paid cash in hand within half an hour of negotiating a price for something, then you better forget about buying it.

According to the blog Zimbabwe Absurdity, "The picture below has been doing the rounds of the email. The toilet photo was apparently taken in the South African customs at Beit Bridge".

"Happy but subdued" about Mugabe-Tsvangirai deal

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:46:35 +0200

After six months of political and economic turmoil, and mass violence, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed Thursday to share power.

Twenty-eight years under Mugabe's rule have left Zimbabwe, once known as the "bread basket" of Africa, devastated by food shortages, poverty and astronomical inflation.

When, after the March presidential elections, results suggested that Tsvangirai's MDC party won more votes than 84-year-old Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, the government went on the offensive. The resulting campaign of intimidation and power politics only ended Thursday night, when South African President Thabo Mbeki announced that the pair had agreed to sign a power-sharing deal.

Details have not been announced, but it is thought that Mugabe will remain president while Tsvangirai will become prime minister and that their two parties will be allocated an equal number of seats in Parliament. The deal is to be signed Monday. Here are our Zimbabwean Observers' reactions to the news.

The cost of living in China

Julien — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:08:19 +0100

Grumbling about inflation is nothing new. But now it's time for the Chinese to make a song and dance about it. Despite the Beijing government insisting that rising inflation levels are ‘structural' and a sign of a healthy economy, ordinary people are finding it hard to see through the same looking-glass. Making their voices heard online, they're using the internet to vent their fumes. Sometimes light-heartedly, like in the video ‘The riddle of spending power' (which we've subtitled in English), but also more seriously.