THE state-run grain company in Zimbabwe has turned to making luxury dog food, while up to four million of the country's people starve.
Doggy's Delight is a new product from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the only firm to which farmers are allowed to sell their wheat and maize.
It is supposed to supply millers with grain for flour to make bread. But, in addition to making dog f
ood, the company has announced that it will focus on poultry feeds this year.
Recent figures show Zimbabwe has a 360,000-tonne shortfall of maize – used to make the staple mealie-meal – and a 255,000-tonne wheat shortfall.
That means more than a third of Zimbabweans are likely to need food aid in the run-up to presidential and parliamentary elections in March, according to aid agencies.
With probably less than ten weeks to go before the polls, there are fears Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party will once again offer food for votes – the government has started secretly importing food from Malawi.
The GMB is delighted with the success of Doggy's Delight, a pre-cooked, high-protein instant dog meal. "Production of dog food by the GMB is now on full throttle," said the company nutritionist, William Ndindana.
Five tonnes of Doggy's Delight are being produced every day, according to reports. But Zimbabwe's hungry hounds won't get much of a taste of the new product, which is primarily intended for the export market.
Such exports earn foreign currency – vital for the government, which is grappling with the highest inflation rate in the world at nearly 8,000 per cent.
Shortages of basics following Mr Mugabe's disastrous price blitz in July and the soaring cost of imported goods mean struggling Zimbabweans are finding it hard enough to feed themselves, let alone their animals. Ten kilos of regular dog biscuits cost about 35 million Zimbabwe dollars (£583 at the official rate of exchange) – more than a teacher's monthly salary.
The cash squeeze appears to have forced many people to turn household pets out into the streets. Packs of starving dogs now roam residential suburbs.
At the height of meat shortages last year, reports from the east of the country said a local man had even tried eating dog, which is taboo in Zimbabwe.
To make matters even worse for the residents of Harare and other Zimbabwean cities, they have been hit by the second major power cut in three days.
The power went off on Monday evening and had still not returned yesterday afternoon.
Traffic lights were not working in most of Harare; water supplies were cut; telephone lines down, and radio transmission was interrupted.
"This country's really bad now. It's on its knees," said George, a caretaker at a block of flats in a Harare suburb. "No power, no phone, no water. No mealie-meal. We're starving."
Tensions are rising in the country after the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) vowed to go ahead with a protest march through the streets of the capital today, even though it has been banned by police. The so-called Freedom March is meant to rival the Million Man March held in support of Mr Mugabe last November.
The organisers say the march is to call for food, jobs and free and fair elections. Police initially gave it the go-ahead, but late on Monday, a spokesman told state radio it had been cancelled because police did not believe it would take place in "a peaceful and tranquil environment".
Yesterday, the MDC vowed to ignore the ban. "The march is on", said its spokesman Nelson Chamisa, who was badly beaten when police broke up an opposition prayer rally last March.
Zimbabwe's state media has accused the opposition of "spoiling for a fight".
SET FOR ELECTION 'ONSLAUGHT'ROBERT Mugabe, who is 84 next month, is due to name the election date in the next few days, and his supporters are gearing for a fight.
In a chilling threat last week, war veterans, who spearheaded the invasion of white-owned farms, said they were launching an "onslaught" to ensure his ruling Zanu-PF party wins. The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association said its members were "on a mission to defend our motherland".
The MDC says it will boycott the polls unless Mr Mugabe agrees to adopt a new constitution ahead of the vote.
Changes to Zimbabwe's media, security and electoral laws were rushed through parliament at the end of 2007. They became law on 11 January.
Sources say the media amendments will be put to the test in coming weeks as foreign journalists seek visas and state media accreditation to visit Zimbabwe for the elections. In the recent past, foreign journalists have routinely been denied access.
