Charles Nyende
1 July 2008
Nairobi — Nation sports writer CHARLES NYENDE was in Harare to cover the Kenya-Zimbabwe Football World Cup qualifier a week before the controversial presidential election run-off that saw President Mugabe sworn in for another term.
As Kenya's Harambee Stars struggled to contain the Zimbabwean attack, word filtered into the packed Rufaro Stadium that Morgan Tsvangirai had quit the presidential contest because of the raging violence directed against the opposition.
There was a roar of disapproval. Suddenly, in unison, the fans started raining from the jam-packed stadium tens of thousands of glossy, full-colour magazines extolling President Mugabe's achievements. The campaign literature had been distributed at the gates to all entering the stadium.
As the papers wafted down slowly in the swirling wind, some being blown onto the playing pitch, it was a spectacular show of what some of the people in Zimbabwe thought of their leader.
Just not right
I had arrived in Zimbabwe with the Kenya team a day before the match. The moment you enter Harare International Airport, you sense something is just not right. The airport is small and modern, glass and carpet. But it is eerily empty with little activity in the duty-free shops, the corridors and the lounges.
The workers in the airport appear distracted. You feel some sort of sadness or fear, or both. Zimbabwe was facing a presidential election rerun with President Mugabe having vowed never to hand over power to his opposition challenger Tsvangirai who had won the first round but missed out on an absolute majority.
The army, the police and ruling party militias were on the rampage against opposition supporters, with nearly a hundred having been killed and tens of thousands run out of their homes.
Changing currency
As I filled out the immigration entry form at the airport, I was struck by the requirement that I declare the foreign currency in my possession. In all my travels in Africa, Asia and Europe, this is the first time in ages I have come across such a requirement.
Maybe it is because I am here with the Kenya national team against the home side, for, mercifully, I am not asked to show the foreign money as I clear with immigration. It does not amount to much anyway.
The only bank changing currency into Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) at the airport indicates it is exchanging $1 for an astronomical Z$7.4 billion!
I salivate at the prospect of becoming an instant billionaire, but opt to carry out my exchange in the city in the hope of a better deal. It is a decision I later regret.
The black market rate in Zimbabwe is around $1 for Z$6 billion. Authorities, I am informed, have pushed the official rate higher than the street trade to attract much needed foreign currency.
We hit the street and I am amazed at the infrastructure and aesthetics of Harare. The roads are wide and smooth. Buildings are spruce. There is plenty of space, parks and gardens. It is a well-planned city, such a contrast to the chaotic Nairobi!
My taxi man, Bebe, informs me with pride that there are no slums in Harare. This is surely a result of the brutal government demolition of shantytowns in 2005.
The drive from the airport to town takes about 20 minutes. In a normal bustling African city, it could have taken much longer. But not here. There is hardly any traffic, vehicular and human. The city appears deserted.
Millions of Zimbabweans have fled to other countries because of the political situation.
"Most people chose to stay indoors. The situation is not good. There can be violence at any time particularly in the densely populated areas," Bebe tells me.
There is little trading activity in the streets. Hawkers and roadside traders are scarce here. On a few streets, you come across green grocers selling vegetables and fruits. Business does not look brisk.
Interestingly, the only itinerant trader you see with frequency is the mobile phone airtime seller for the three providers - Econet, Telecel and Net-One. It is mainly carried out by young men who brandish the cards like priceless items.
Wireless telecommunication is one of the fastest growing industries in Africa. But in Harare, unlike Nairobi, Dar or Kampala, you will be hard-pressed to spot mobile phone shops. Getting a SIM card is near impossible despite the demand. One can hire or buy one on the black market for $100 (Z$600 billion, Sh6,200). Line congestion is common.
At the hotel, I pay for my accommodation in US dollars. It is a requirement for foreigners to settle their hotel bills in foreign currency, a notice on the wall proclaims.
At my first breakfast, I am served tea without milk, and not by choice.
"Sorry, we could not get milk today. Maybe tomorrow," the helpful waiter said as he served me another cup of strong tea nonchalantly. I am only entitled to two slices of bread. I have no complaints with the rest of my meals though.
Ugali, called sadza, beef and chicken are available. Such a meal will set you back Z$40 billion at an average priced restaurant.
You will not see a starving person in Harare but, ironically, food commodities are scarce. Shelves in shops are empty. Long queues for bread are common. The bread costs Z$2 billion.
Foreign papers
"Some people buy all the bread in the shop and then sell it at a higher price on the streets," Bebe explains. I have no need to line up for bread, but I am forced to go to the black market for a newspaper. I fail to get the Z$200 million Herald, a government owned daily, at the news vendor. The security guard at my hotel manages to get it for me for Z$1 billion at the black market, five times more than the official price.
The askari tells me that there is a scarcity of print paper and that foreign papers, mainly from South Africa, are in higher circulation than local ones. Indeed, it is easier to get the Mail and Guardian of South Africa than the Herald even though it is the Government mouth piece.
Zimbabwe is reeling under hyper-inflation. On my first and second day, I was charged Z$10 billion per hour at the business centre in the hotel. On the third day, I was informed the rate had gone up to Z$30 billion per hour.
There is a joke here that when you enter a Harare bar, you order several rounds of beer at ago to avoid suffering a price increase in between rounds. Jokes aside, night life in Harare is almost non-existent. Most restaurants close early to allow their workers go home safely. Night spots are sparsely patronised.
A group of Kenyan visitors and I were the only revellers in one recommended town centre bar and restaurant. With a bottle of beer costing Z$16 billion, we could say we had drank billions at one sitting.
Because of the high inflation, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has kept on printing money in ever increasing denominations. The highest valued note is now Z$50 billion. Smaller denominations exist of Z$10 million, 100 million and 500 million.
If you get change in Z$10 million, a bag will be handy to carry the stack. A close look at the bank notes shows although it is legal tender, it actually carries an expiry date. I came across some notes of Z$200,000 discarded in the streets. Little wonder. They were expired (May 2008) and their value was also worthless. At the current rates, the notes were the equivalent of Kenya cents 0.2!
Every bank you pass by in the morning has long queues of people hoping to withdraw some money. The banks only allow a few billion Z$ to be withdrawn by people backed by Zanu-PF slogans.
For a person who has been following the political campaigns in Zimbabwe, I was struck by the lack of a visible opposition presence. Campaign posters and billboards of Tsvangirai were completely absent.
Little persuasion
International media reports were heavy on the violence in Zimbabwe, but I never came across fighting.
I had, however, been warned not to walk on the streets with a camera or venture outside town. I needed little persuasion. Occasionally, youth in Zanu-PF bandanas could be seen on the streets.
Other images in the media showing Mugabe greeting ecstatic crowds at his campaign rallies pointed to a divided nation.
My impressions were captured by words from one of the Zimbabwe football players who travelled to Nairobi for the first tie against Harambee Stars.
"I was in Nairobi some years back. There is a lot of difference. You people have gone up. In Zimbabwe things have just been going down," he said.
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I’m wondering how Lloyd Whitefield Butler Junior will react to this sad and depressing article by a Kenyan sports writer on his visit to Zimbabwe?
His description of Harare bears a striking resemblance to Phnom Penh following the rise to power of Pol Pot even down to the money littering the streets.