sector, have beenblamed for the acute shortage of
stockfeeds.

"The Cattle Producers'
Association believes that the level ofdestocking reached its peak in 2002 as
the pressure on commercial farms inthe form of harassment, extortion and
evictions intensified," the CPA said.

AS the ZANU PF government
continues to tread lightly on the prevailingsocio-economic hardships, the
nation has waited in vain and with batedbreath for a twist of sobriety to
dawn on President Robert Mugabe.

With each
day that passes, the populace anticipates that he willrealise, most probably
with a jolt, just how turbulent the times
havebecome.

The Mugabe reign is now
characterised by gloom and despair as opposedto love and cheer. With the
government digging its heels deep and grittingits teeth in political
intolerance, and the cost of living ballooning beyondreach, there honestly
is absolutely nothing to smile about.

Anyone who subscribes to the belief that the governmenteye. It leaves everyoneblind. It is extremely cold-hearted for the
government to defer owning up tothe prevailing hardships since they are a
by-product of its skewed policies.

With
the full knowledge that commercial agriculture was the country'sprime
foreign currency earner, the government, in a bid to appease and lurethe
rural electorate, embarked on a hysterical programme of unseating thosewho
made good of the farms.

Fuel
supplies were flowing well under the system that allowed the thenfive fuel
companies to import fuel. There was once a time when there was aglut,
prompting service station attendants to clean windscreens in a bid towin
customers.

All this soon became a thing of
the past with the introduction of theNational Oil Company of Zimbabwe, a
government wholly-owned company thatbecame known more for corrupt practices
than fuel procurement.

Skewed government
policies have wreaked havoc in the transport sector.Revelations that the
lives that