Zimbabwe economy may be cause of crash

Investigators looking into what led to a bus-train collision in the Zimbabwean capital that killed 35 people suspect excessive speed, an underage driver and the fact that the bus was carrying double its passenger capacity.

They could also blame the economy.

With inflation at nearly 1,600 percent _ the highest in the world _ and foreign exchange scarce, the government and private employers cannot afford to maintain roads, rails and vehicles, or pay trained staff.

Zimbabwe's economy, once one of the region's strongest, is mired in its worst crisis since independence in 1980. The decline has followed the often-violent seizures of more than 5,000 white-owned commercial farms since 2000 on the orders of President Robert Mugabe. Agriculture had been the mainstay of the economy.

Shortages of spare parts, equipment and gasoline have crippled garbage collection, road repairs and other basic services. Bus accidents are common, blamed on careless driving and mechanical failures due to shortages of tires and other spare parts.

Transport operators have continued to use dangerous vehicles and overload them with passengers, despite checks at undermanned police road blocks. They award bonuses to speedy drivers who can make more runs in a shift and employ unqualified people _ often relatives _ who work for less pay.

In Tuesday's crash in Harare, investigators noted that electric warning signals and booms had not functioned for years at the crossing where the bus collided with a freight train.

The National Railways company and the town council also failed to routinely cut long grass obscuring the view of oncoming trains, investigators said. The money-losing National Railways company has reported widespread theft of its signals and cables across the country in recent years.

The bus driver, who died, was too young at 24 to hold a bus license. The bus had been ordered off the roads last year by government inspectors, and its rear brakes had not been functioning.

On Monday, the Ministry of Transport said it had run out of money for street and highway repairs. "The road department had nine (repair) units and none of them are in existence now. All the equipment has collapsed," George Mlilo, a ministry official, told a meeting of lawmakers.

The economic crisis has energized government opponents, stoked discontent in the armed forces and provoked rifts in Mugabe's ruling party over his continued leadership, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report Tuesday.

"Economic issues, discontent among underpaid police and troops and the increasing willingness of opposition parties and civil society to protest in the streets all increase the risk of sudden major violence," the group said.

Most of Tuesday's dead were impoverished vendors heading to the main Harare market with baskets of wares when the crash happened just after 5 a.m.

The government declared the crash a national disaster and promised to compensate the families of the victims. But cash-strapped authorities have largely failed to honor past promises of money and state assistance for funerals of disaster victims.