An Inch or So of Pinch

Economic boycotts are by now a familiar, if not quite believable, story to Rhodesia's rebellious whites. The Brit ish declared one against them in 1965 without much noticeable effect, and the United Nations Security Council imposed another one against them four months ago, ditto. Last week, however, Prime Minister Ian Smith advised his countrymen that they could expect an inch or so of pinch. "It seems as though the whole business is going to be drawn out longer than we thought," said Smith. "I do not think it necessarily means austerity, but I believe that Rhodesians must accept that there may be some changes in their ways of living."

There have been some changes already, of course. The cost of living has risen by about 25% in the past six months, and shop owners have had to reduce (but not cut off) their imports of luxury goods. There is a shortage of both new and used cars; the Ford assembly plant in Salisbury has had to curtail production because of a shortage of parts, and the nearby Rover plant has started turning out Japanese Isuzu trucks to replace the British lorries it once assembled. Tobacco, once Rhodesia's principal source of foreign exchange, is now piling up in secret government warehouses--three of which are disguised as hangars on an unused Salisbury airfield. The government recently initiated a "Guard Against Gossip" campaign (nicknamed "GAG") warning Rhodesians not to discuss economic troubles with foreigners.

New Life. All in all, there does not seem to be much cause for gagging. Rhodesian farmers are rapidly diversifying their crops so that the country will no longer need to import such staples as wheat and soy beans. Despite the worldwide oil embargo, Rhodesia gets all the oil it needs from its good friend--and embargo breaker--South Africa. It also keeps its export market alive through agents in South Africa, in the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique and in the black African nation of Malawi (see following story). The Rhodesian pound may have been declared worthless on world mar kets, but Rhodesian mines turn out enough gold to keep the country in international spending money.

The embargoes have not only failed to strangle the Rhodesian economy, but in many respects have actually given it new life. Unable to spend their money abroad, private Rhodesian investors have plowed it into new enterprises at home. Old factories have been enlarged and diversified, and a government incentive program has already encouraged the building of 240 new plants, half of them now in operation. The result is that Rhodesia is well on its way to producing at home almost all of the goods it once had to import.

No Offers. Naturally, the sanctions have proved no deterrent whatever to Smith's white-supremacist policies. With the nearly unanimous backing of his fellow whites, his government is in the process of writing a new constitution that is expected to reduce the importance of or even eliminate the 15 Deputies now elected to Parliament by Rhodesia's blacks. Smith is also promoting a "Community Development Program," under which taxes paid by whites will go to the development of the white community, and taxes paid by blacks--whose earning power is onetenth that of the whites--will be spent to develop black communities. Education is a key target of the plan. "The blacks must learn that if they want schools they must pay for them," says Government Planner Roger Howman. Ineffective as the sanctions have been or are likely to be, the world has not as yet devised a more workable form of pressure against Rhodesia. In Cairo last week, the leaders of five African nations concluded a so-called "mini-sum mit" on Rhodesia by demanding that Smith be overthrown by force of arms. Such demands have been heard before in Africa; they are not only demagogic but silly. No responsible government gives serious thought to a war against Rhodesia. And for all the calls to arms, not a single nation anywhere in the world has ever volunteered any of its own troops to do battle against Ian Smith.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.