Showing papers in "Southern Africa political and economic monthly in 1997"

Zimbabwe: a country in crisis?

Abstract: Zimbabwe is a country on the brink of disaster, and many of the promises that it once held are fading away. More than 200,000 people who were dislodged from their homes in 2005 are still homeless and in need of health care, clean drinking water, and medicine (Report: Situation Dire for Those Displaced by Slum Cleanup). The inflation rate has hit 1,200%, prompting the government to reduce the number of zeros on the Zimbabwe dollar (Z$) by three (Zimbabwe Inflation at 1200 Percent). There is a chronic shortage of food, gasoline, and material imports. Since the government’s seizure of white farmers’ land, the record harvests once experienced by Zimbabwe have dwindled. AIDS/HIV in the population has hit a record 25% of the people (Gutierrez). This downward spiral can be traced back to the corrupt President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. His policies and refusals of international aid have put this country against the wall.