Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Gordon Brown threatens price hikers

Gordon Brown threatens price hikers
Prince Kahari – Opinion
Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:52:00 +0000

DEAR EDITOR – I was shocked to read in Friday 17 October’s edition of London Lite newspaper that British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown had given a directive to garage owners to lower their prices or face an inquiry by the government leading to a possible fine.

The title of the article should have been “Brown threatens business takeovers” to mirror an earlier London Lite headline entitled “Robert Mugabe threatens firms in Zimbabwe”. But not in the UK! The article’s title was masked as: “High pump prices fuel drivers’ rage”. This title effectively protected Brown from his increasing interference in business activity and his government’s failure to regulate effectively. Instead the author passed the buck and blamed the garages.

Two months’ ago we saw Brown in the Middle East trying to negotiate lower fuel prices. Surely garage owners should maintain a level of profitability by charging the prices they are charging. But we all know those prices will deal a huge blow to the already waning political misfortunes of the British Prime Minister.

Without justifying the Zimbabwean government’s directive, which I have criticised in this publication before, I was shocked that those who criticise our governments are themselves capable of the same actions.

Interestingly, a government that has also blamed the Zimbabwean government for interfering in the normal running of private business now owns almost 60% of the banking sector in the UK. Brown has officially and effectively nationalised key institutions of the western capitalist system – the banks.

Call it a bailout package or whatever – it is nationalisation. The state owns the banking system in the UK – something that would have been unthinkable before. The state has also fired banking executives without giving them severance packages. Isn’t this dictatorship? Or should we call it ‘rescuing the economy’?

This, unfortunately, is Gordon Brown’s version of capitalism – authoritarian and dictatorial capitalism of the West, and interestingly US outgoing President George W Bush, is taking cues from the British Prime Minister.

Prince Kahari writes fron London, UK
princekahari@yahoo.com

Labels: GORDON BROWN

posted by MrK @ 12:59 AM