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To: regli who wrote (50090)	4/25/2006 11:38:34 PM
From: shades	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Not all fees are going up so much - what do you think is the solution? They have 70% unemployment there. Zimbabwe State Hospital Charges Rocket 30 Fold HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)--Zimbabweans reeling from rampant inflation received another shock Tuesday when health authorities announced up to 30-fold increases in state hospital charges. Deputy Health Minister Edwin Maguti said consultation fees at emergency rooms in the main government hospitals will increase 3,000% to nearly 1 million Zimbabwe dollars ($10) with immediate affect, state radio reported. Surgery will cost the equivalent of about $1 a minute, more than the average Zimbabwean earns a day. District hospitals and clinics will charge about 15 times more, Maguti said. Special fees for the elderly, impoverished and other vulnerable groups remain unchanged along with basic immunization programs, he said, saying patients trying to cheat the system by claiming this status will be fined. (BWAHAHA) Maguti said the increases were necessary to shore up crumbling public health services and ease crowding at medical facilities. Harare housewife Teresa Peak was stunned by the announcement. "Everyone is asking about it and talking about it. People are saying they will be left to die at home," she said. Peak predicted may Zimbabweans would turn to traditional healers and cheap herbal remedies, rather than seek help from state or private doctors. Earlier this month, the government approved the doubling of private consultation fees to about ZWD6 million a visit. Zimbabwe's economy has been in freefall since the often violent seizures of more than 5,000 white-owned commercial farms began in 2000, disrupting agricultural production. The United Nations estimates at least 3 million of the 12.5 million population are in need of emergency food aid ahead of next month's harvests. Annual tobacco auctions opened Tuesday with about 50 million kilograms up for bids, one-fourth the amount auctioned in 2000, when Zimbabwe was the world's second largest tobacco exporter after Brazil. Tobacco dealers said this year's crop lacked consistency, with some bales showing evidence of pest damage blamed on shortages of fertilizer and insecticides. Tobacco production was once one of the country's main hard currency earners, along with the collapsing mining and tourism industries. The lack of hard currency has led to acute shortages of gasoline, medicines and other essential imports. Official inflation is running at 913%, the highest in the world, but the calculations do not take into account spiraling charges for medical care, imported drugs and other services. Postal and telephone services have increased by up to 2,000% in the past year. (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 25, 2006 13:03 ET (17:03 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 03 PM EDT 04-25-06