I can only provide what little information I have learnt along the way as to why Zim is in the state that it is. Here is the abbreviated version.
Zimbabwe’s current political instability arises from difficult political and economic transformations that have strained its capacity to manage crises effectively. The first—the transition from war to peace with Zimbabwe’s independence from white rule in 1979 was incomplete and set the stage for conflicts to arise throughout the 1980s. The second, overlaying the first, was Zimbabwe’s transition from a developmental to a neoliberal state, producing intense social hardships on the population. And in 2005 the government stole another election, the opposition imploded and half a million of the poorest people were evicted in the midst of winter. Unemployment is at 70%, inflation has topped 1000% and women die younger in Zimbabwe than anywhere else on the planet.
In the last few years, Mugabe's decision making has become very questionable and the nation is rapidly slipping into economic oblivion. The situation began to unravel when the economy slowed down around 2001 and it became evident that Mugabe's political party was rapidly losing popularity. He tried to gain favor with poorer voters (the vast majority of Zimbabweans) by allowing squatters to illegally occupy and take over high production farmlands owned by a small minority of the population. Naturally these subsistence farmers were not able to be even remotely as productive as the previous high-skilled agribusiness operations, so Zimbabwe lost its largest source of export earnings and actually had to start importing food to feed its population. This in turn made Zimbabwe have a huge shortage of foreign currency reserves which it had used to pay its debts and buy imports. Mugabe decided to take the easy way out and just print more money to exchange for the desperately needed foreign currency. Not surprisingly, inflation immediately spiraled out of control. A travel guidebook from 2002 shows 1 US dollar = 35 Zimbabwe dollars. The current "black market" exchange rate is 1 US dollar = 1,400,000 Zimbabwe dollars or basically non existent. Think about what that would do to the value of any savings you had! Of course this had had a devastating effect on the economy and the Zimbabwean people, crime has increased, unemployment is rampant, many businesses have shut down, there are shortages of anything imported (especially gasoline) and many rural residents are on the brink of famine.
The currency is an ongoing and unmitigated disaster that can put a huge strain on visiting there. As mentioned the local currency is valueless and only foreign, south African rand and american dollars, are accepted. You can’t draw from the bank therefore you must budget your money and spend wisely.
It is so bad there now that we had to make sure fuel would be available. The importation laws on fuel can change from one day to the next with a capricious government.
Zim was once one of the healthiest economies in Africa. And it is apparent in it’s buildings and it’s people. It’s obvious that there was once a thriving economy. Driving through Bulawayo was like driving through a time warp. What I imagine Cuba to be like. We stopped at the first gas station to find they only had diesel and no petrol, the next petrol but no diesel. We tried to find food to buy no only get a bag of crackers that were stale and old. It really is desperate at the moment and sad. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures here or in any urban setting as this could be construed by Zimbabwean authorities as misrepresenting oneself as an accredited journalist, a crime punishable by arrest, incarceration and/or deportation. So I thought better not.
The stark reality of it all became even more real once we crossed over into Botswana and drove through a similar city, Francistown. Botswana is thriving and alive with new buildings going up, huge new stadiums, business open and line ups at the counters and road works everywhere. The extreme difference in the two countries highlighted the grim reality of Zimbabwe even more.
Still with the extreme poverty in Zimbabwe under their oppressive dictator, you can only try to understand how the people must feel. Although, passing through villages, I found that most of the people are smiling and waving like they are glad to see us. I am intrigued with the large bundles that women easily balance on their heads while leaving their hands free to hold on to little ones. There is no reason not to travel there at the moment and Zimbabweans need the money. And while the government has some stake in the national airline and some hotels, stay in a hostel as we did and drive to insure the money isn’t going to government cronies. For the rest, waitress, artists, guides and small business tourism decline has put them on the bread line. These people need tourism. I never felt unsafe and the locals are friendly and happy to see you. Perhaps too happy in that I felt harassed at times, but never unsafe. It’s a beautiful land with beautiful people in a sad sad state at the moment.
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