Tough Times Ahead As Francistown Run Out of Mealie-Meal

Botswana: Tough Times Ahead As Francistown Run Out of Mealie-Meal Posted to the web 17 November 2008 Patricia Maganu Francistown Residents of Francistown are facing tough times as mealie-meal is quickly disappearing from shelves at supermarkets and stores. Supermarkets and wholesalers are doing roaring business as Zimbabweans scramble for mealie-meal to export to their crisis-ridden country. In every supermarket and wholesale, Zimbabweans are scrambling for mealie-meal. After an eight year political and economic crisis, Zimbabwe is facing acute shortages of maize due to a haphazardly implemented land reform programme, a situation that has been made worse by recurring droughts. Score Supermarket branch manager Sethata Ntswaneng said that they do not have enough stock to satisfy demand from Zimbabwe. Sethata said that in one... [read full story]