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Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate soars past 1,000 percent

Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate soared above 1,000 percent on Friday, highlighting the country's economic and political crisis.

Fearing an angry reaction, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government had delayed release of the statistic for two days.

"We already knew inflation was above 1,000 percent even before the news. We feel it every day," said a Harare factory worker, Iddah Mandaza.

"If you see the price of something in the morning, it is higher in the afternoon. It's hurting everyone," Mandaza said.

The rate, of 1,043 percent, is the world's highest, and Zimbabwe also has the fastest contracting economy outside a war zone. It has shrunk by more than 40 percent since 2000. Harare economists say inflation could reach 1,800 percent by the end of the year.

Zimbabwe's economic decline was spurred on by the collapse of the country's agriculture following Mugabe's seizure of most of the white-owned commercial farms, starting in 2000.

Now the president is threatening to take 51 percent control of all mines, which economists say will provoke further economic chaos.

Zimbabweans are plagued by shortages of staple foods and fuel, one of the world's highest HIV infection rates, and the collapse of the public healthcare system. The country has the world's lowest life expectancy for women, at 34 years, according to UN figures.

The inflation rate and drastically declining standard of living are fueling resentment against the government, particularly in the cities, according to political analysts.

A year ago the government tore down the homes of an estimated 700,000 poor residents of Harare and other urban centers. The state-controlled Herald newspaper later reported that Mugabe ordered the slum clearance because he feared the city-dwellers would revolt.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is putting together a plan to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis by getting Mugabe to retire in return for an economic recovery package, according to the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.
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