BRUSSELS, Belgium - They earn an average salary of $1.2 billion monthly, but don't be fooled by the several zeros. Members of the journalism profession in Zimbabwe, like ordinary workers in the country, have to hustle to survive on that pay packet.

Ndamu Sandu, an independent journalist with The Standard, a weekly national newspaper in Zimbabwe, says it is difficult for journalists like him to survive even on that impressive-sounding salary. He has to freelance for international newspapers and websites to survive.

Z$1.2 billion paid to journalists monthly may seem plenty even to Jamaicans who convert J$71 to US$1. But for Z$1.2 billion, Zimbabweans can only get US$20.

"We have to supplement our salaries," Sandu tells the Observer. "Some news organisations are banned from entering Zimbabwe, so a number of opportunities are available for freelance work."

Sandu, 31, works for The Standard, one of the few independent voices in Zimbabwe. He was in Brussels, Belgium, for the just-concluded training seminar for journalists from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that now govern relations between Europe and its present and former colonies in the ACP bloc.

He spoke passionately about his economically ravaged country, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe - the once proud African nation that won independence from white rule in 1980.

Older Jamaicans would remember that reggae icon Bob Marley performed at the independence celebrations, with the anthem ".I and I a go liberate Zimbabwe."

".Transportation cost (by bus) for the month is $880 million, and from the balance (of $1.2 billion) you may be able to buy five bars of washing soap, sugar and bread," says Sandu, his voice betraying a tinge of sadness.

Some journalists who own cars have to park them because of the high cost of fuel, he adds.

"Zimbabwe has become a nation of buying and selling. Inflation is 165,000 per cent, which is understated. There is lots of hustling.People are buying and selling almost anything.

"People will buy two kilos of sugar for Z$8 million and resell it for Z$100 million," he says, jokingly brandishing a Z$10-million note that could only buy two sweets.

The highest bank note, a bearer cheque, is $50 million from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The central bank has constantly been printing money, "which is not good", Sandu suggests.

He says most people don't leave money in the bank, as the 4,000 per cent interest rate paid on passbook savings is nowhere near the 165,000 per cent inflation rate.

Basic items, like sugar, milk and bread, are not usually available in supermarkets, and so citizens have to pay high prices for those goods on the black market.

"There is a thriving black market for food, currency and fuel. If you have money to buy and sell foreign exchange it is profitable," he reports.

Several people, many of them young entrepreneurs, have, however, gotten rich out of the country's economic crisis, mainly through their aggressive trading activities.

Sandu also paints a damning picture of his country's irregular water and electricity supply, which even affluent communities have to do without during periods of lock-off and load-shedding. Citizens, however, get bills from the utility companies even during periods when no supplies are given.

The Zimbabwe electricity company, he explains, generates about half of the country's electricity supply, with the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) supplying the rest.

"It is like a brotherhood because Zimbabwe sent soldiers into the DRC when they were overrun by rebels," Sandu offers. However, after six months of non-payment, that service has been cut, causing more power outages for the country's population of 14 million people.

"There is no load-shedding where there are hospitals, radio stations, the army and other essential areas," Sandu adds with obvious relief.

Most of the media outlets are owned by the government, and those privately owned have difficulties getting information from state agencies and departments, he complains. The central bank is among those which customarily exclude the private media from press briefings and conferences.

"Sometime they view the private media as enemies and even ministers outrightly refuse to speak to us," says the newsman.

He claims that journalists from private media outlets are harrassed and intimidated in strongholds of Mugabe's Zanu-PF Party. "It is a no-go for private papers in these strongholds as they are not allowed to distribute their publications in these areas."

This pressure, says Sandu, has put a severe strain on media owners, and has seen the closure of one daily and three weekly newspapers since 2003.

At present, Mugabe's government controls the country's two daily newspapers, the only national television station and four national radio stations. There are only three privately owned national weeklies.

He believes the state-owned media campaigned for Mugabe's party, with the radio and television stations constantly playing revolutionary songs in the run-up to the elections about three weeks ago.

The Zimbabwean government also requires all journalists to be registered with the Media and Information Commission.

But on the bright side, Sandu notes that despite the country's numerous problems, the recent general election was one of the most peaceful as no killings were reported. There were, however, clashes between government and opposition supporters.

Sandu sees a bleak future for his country if it continues on the present economic path. "The future will be bleak if the government continues its pro-inflationary policies.keeps spending and spending and printing and printing money."

One example of the government's careless spending cited by the journalist was the provision of tractors as 'loans' for persons in farming, who are then given an allowance to "go and practise". These monies, he says, are not normally accounted for and not repaid.
"It is like dishing out money."

In the meantime, the Mugabe Government, despite international pressure, is yet to say when it will release the results of the general election, widely believed to be won by Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangiral.

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