Mugabe running out of begging options as fuel supplies dwindle

By Tererai Karimakwenda
24 November 2006

The Independent newspaper reports that Robert Mugabe’s recent trip to Iran was a desperate bid to secure fuel by mortgaging Zimbabwe’s mineral resources. This would not be the first time that Mugabe has used the country’s mineral wealth to guarantee these ill-advised deals. His “look east” policy allows China to rape Zimbabwe’s resources and flooded the country’s markets with cheap products known as “zhing zhongs”, forcing many local businesses to shut down. And there were deals with other countries that gained access to Zimbabwe’s agricultural and mining sectors.

In the end these deals all go sour because Mugabe can only mortgage so much of the country’s wealth. The Independent report revealed that China and Russia had also received mineral rights in exchange for financial, trade and investment deals, the details of which remain shrouded in secrecy. But both countries have reportedly not given Mugabe any credit lines. Experts say the lawless business environment that Mugabe himself created has killed any lingering investor confidence. Soon ZANU-PF will have to travel the world begging at the doorsteps of other rogue states.

According to the Independent Iran proposed a number of measures to assist Zimbabwe with fuel and oil products which the Zimbabwean delegation welcomed. It was agreed a group of Iranian experts would be assigned to help renovate Zimbabwe’s oil refineries, after which Iran would supply crude oil to meet the country’s fuel consumption needs.
In return the report claims Iran was promised an array of minerals.

The list of countries to whom Mugabe has attempted to sell Zimbabwe’s natural resources is getting longer as he gets more desperate. Iran joins Kuwait, Angola, Sudan, Nigeria and Venezuela and China.