Zimbabwe police target minibuses

There is considerable anger at severe food and fuel shortages

Zimbabwe police have been targeting minibus taxi drivers as they continue a crackdown on the large informal sector.

Eyewitnesses described about 100 minibuses being driven in convoy under police escort in the capital, Harare.

Police are manning roadblocks and searching cars in the city. Almost 10,000 people have been arrested since the police action began last week.

Minibuses were also stopped in Bulawayo, and street traders' stalls have been destroyed in both cities.

Black market

Some stallholders were fined for operating without licences or possessing what the police said were scarce staple items, like maizemeal and sugar intended for resale. The black market has thrived in Zimbabwe amid 80% unemployment.

In Bulawayo, most foreign businessmen had closed their premises by early Tuesday afternoon, amid suspicion that they were being targeted on account of alleged foreign currency dealing.

The action against the minibus drivers was interpreted as a move to keep commuters out of the cities, following protests in Harare at the weekend. The drivers are also suspected of dealing in petrol on the black market.

"Police will leave no stone unturned in their endeavour to flush out economic saboteurs," Police Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka told the state media.

Shortages

The country faces shortages of many basics like petrol, maize and toothpaste, and the head of the UN's emergency relief agency is visiting this week to discuss importing food aid.

The police chief said informal business operators had been arrested and fined for operating without licences or possessing scarce staple items such as maize meal, sugar and petrol intended for resale on the black market.

But many of the flea market traders selling second-hand goods have been licensed.

Police have destroyed 34 flea markets and netted some Z$900m ($100,000) in fines and seized some Z$2.2bn of goods.

Weekend clash

Harare residents are said to be furious at the police operation codenamed "restore order".

Angry demonstrators clashed with police at the weekend in what AP news agency described as the most serious unrest seen since the ruling party won March parliamentary elections.

Informal trade is an important sector of the economy

In recent days only a few government buses have been running, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said President Robert Mugabe was seeking an excuse to impose a State of Emergency and had ordered the crackdown to stop second-hand dealers undercutting cheap imports from China.

The Zimbabwean dollar was devalued by 45% last week.