Official mismanagement and a shortage of foreign exchange have brought about an acute fuel shortage in Zimbabwe. Joseph Winter reports from Harare.

A country without fuel is a country where nothing works. Zimbabwe is a fair way down that road.

Car-owners spend much of their time sitting in queues for petrol. The lines of cars, buses and lorries can stretch for miles and when these form outside city-centre garages, they cause enormous traffic jams for those vehicles which do have fuel.

There are fewer buses on the road for those without their own transport, so getting around has become a chore for everyone.

Half of all petrol-guzzling long distance buses are grounded because they cannot get the fuel they need.

Tourist worries

It is not only transport which is affected by the fuel shortages. Tour operators report that holidays are being cancelled by tourists worried about being stranded in the middle of game-parks without any petrol, surrounded by lions and elephants. Tourism is one of Zimbabwe's major sources of foreign currency.

Two fishing companies in the northern town of Kariba have had to close down with the loss of hundreds of jobs because they cannot get fuel for their boats.

Factories in Harare are considering working a three-day week unless they get oil very soon.

Garbage pile-up

Rubbish is being left uncollected, as the refuse companies do not have enough petrol for their lorries.

Piles of garbage are left putrefying on street corners. Some residents burn it, causing plumes of acrid smoke to waft through the suburbs.

And it goes right down to the most mundane things. I wanted to buy some empty egg boxes to sound-proof my office. I was told that due to the shortage of diesel, Zimbabwe's sole egg-box manufacturers were only selling to regular customers.

What supplies exist, are being directed to priority areas such as ambulances and agricultural exports which earn the foreign exchange needed to buy more fuel.

The rest of the country is being told to cut down on journeys, to drive slowly and even to ride bicycles to conserve the black gold.

Corruption

President Robert Mugabe blames the shortage on white farmers hoarding fuel and foreign banks hoarding hard currency.

But not very many people believe him. Many point to corruption and mismanagement at NOCZIM, the state company responsible for importing all of Zimbabwe's fuel.

A year ago, all senior managers were sent on forced leave when it was discovered that US$35m had been squandered on fuel that was never delivered and a host of other irregularities. To date, no further action has been taken against them and they are still being paid their salaries.

At the same time, the government tried to avoid social unrest by keeping the price of fuel well below the market rate. But it did not pay the difference to NOCZIM, which ran up such huge debts that suppliers turned off the taps.

Debts

Compounding the situation is a lack of foreign currency in Zimbabwe, making it difficult to obtain more supplies, which now have to be paid for up-front.

This problem is more complex. Zimbabwe has for many years imported more goods than it exports, running up foreign debts.

When the International Monetary Fund cut off aid last year, citing a lack of transparency over financing the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and angered by repeated insults from Mr Mugabe, a vital prop was removed. Debts were called in, using up much of the available hard currency.

Now, officials, ministers and even the president are roaming the world, looking for new sources of fuel.

To make matters worse, Zimbabwe's electricity supplier, ZESA, is facing almost exactly the same set of problems as NOCZIM. Maybe this time, the authorities will act before the situation becomes critical. If not, with neither fuel nor power, Zimbabwe will grind to a halt.