Zimbabwe’s descent into chaos gathered pace yesterday as many shops ran out of food and thousands of workers were left stranded when bus drivers were arrested for allegedly overcharging.

State-imposed price controls that force retailers to sell goods for a fraction of their value have left supermarket shelves bereft of groceries.

The crisis deepened when the Government closed all private abbatoirs in an attempt to take control of the supply of meat. By yesterday meat products had vanished from sale around the country after the Government cancelled the licences of the private slaughterhouses because they had stopped delivering meat they had been ordered to sell at half price.

Last night workers jostled at bus stops to squeeze into open trucks to return home after police arrested more than 100 drivers who refused to cut fares. The drivers claim that they cannot afford to buy petrol, which is mainly acquired on the black market because state-regulated petrol stations have run out of supplies.

Wide-ranging price controls were imposed by President Mugabe two weeks ago in an attempt to control Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, which now exceeds 4,500 per cent. The controls, which have been rigorously enforced, have resulted in the arrest of more than 2,000 businessmen, including executives from the country’s biggest retailers, for refusing to cut their prices. The executives also stand accused of conspiring to bring down the Government in cohorts with the United States and Britain.

The Government’s intervention has exacerbated an already acute shortage of essential goods. Many basic commodities that have disappeared from supermarket shelves have reappeared in street markets, even more expensive than they were before.

The Government has also banned the commercial import of groceries without a permit from the end of the month. The move will end business for thousands of informal traders who flock to neighbouring South Africa and Botswana for cheap goods for resale in Zimbabwe.

Mr Mugabe says that the clamp-down is to restore the people’s right to an affordable cost of living. But on Thursday it was men in smart suits and women with expensive hairstyles who had to be controlled by riot police when they stormed Makro, a discount store. “It was like a plague of locusts,” said an onlooker. “They grabbed everything they could.”

Inside they loaded trolleys with goods, like fashionable shoes cut to about 25p, and television sets for £12, which they loaded into their 4X4s abandoned in the road outside Makro in their rush to beat the queue.

Thomson Marwire, who sells cell-phone cards on the street, said that he had not joined the rush. “I have no money,” he said.

“This is not going to last,” said one company executive. “Fuel is going to run out and there will be no deliveries, no services. The people who are benefiting from this legalised looting will be the same people throwing stones in a few weeks.”

Decline and fall

500,000 Zimbabwe’s estimated agricultural production this year in tonnes

44% Decrease in last year’s production levels 4m Zimbabweans expected to go hungry next year

£196m Value of cereal exported by Zimbabwe ten years ago

Source: United Nations Regional InterAgency Coordination and Support Office

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