Zimbabwe ? President Robert Mugabe devoted his first major speech since the unresolved election three weeks ago to denouncing whites and former colonial ruler Britain, an attempt to convince Zimbabweans their political and economic troubles stem from abroad.

The scene at the official 28th Independence Day celebration Friday had all the pomp of old, with air force jets sweeping overhead and Mugabe, bedecked in sash and medals, striding past soldiers at attention.

But any private observances by ordinary Zimbabweans were likely muted – prices for food, gasoline and drinks have more than doubled just in the past week amid an economic meltdown that has emptied store shelves and idled four of every five workers.

“There are black people who are putting prices up, but they are being used by the whites,” Mugabe said, promising to tighten laws that set prices and to crack down on – and possibly take over – businesses that break the rules.

Whites “want the people to starve so they think the government is wrong and they should remove it,” said Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980 but who, according to independent monitors, failed to win re-election in the March 29 presidential vote.