MEDIA REPORT STATE NEWSPAPER ATTACKS GOZ MINISTER;

UNCLAS HARARE 002080 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT STATE NEWSPAPER ATTACKS GOZ MINISTER; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "Take urgent steps to arrest inflation" the government-controlled daily newspaper "The Herald" (circulation 50 - 70,000) dedicated its October 16 editorial to attacking Finance Minister Dr. Herbert Murerwa and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for doing nothing to arrest the run-away inflation in the country. This could be the first direct salvo on one of Robert Mugabe's key minister's since the economic downturn started in 1999 by this newspaper that has long been the leading propaganda organ for the Mugabe administration. Excerpts of the unusual editorial follow: ¶2. "The Achilles' heel of Zimbabwe's economy is the spiraling inflation, which has now reached a peak of 455,5 percent. There is need to act quickly to contain the rampant inflation, a major contributor to declining standards of living and deepening poverty levels. . .The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Herbert Murerwa, is aware of how bad the inflation has risen but has not done anything that could see a deceleration of the inflation. . .It is that the minister and the central bank, which acts as an adviser to the government on economic matters, have not done anything to ensure that inflation stops accelerating. . .Both the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe have apparently been spectators standing on the sidelines while inflation has been worsening. . .We urge Dr. Murerwa to act timeously (sic) on critical issues like inflation, which have serious repercussions on the entire economy and livelihood of the people." SULLIVAN