Zimbabwe was very much on folks’ minds throughout the three weeks that I spent in Africa. One Zimbabwean gave me a ride in Cape Town. His family had spent about 200 years building up a beef farm in Zimbabwe, the business being worth close to $10 million before a crony of Robert Mugabe dispossessed them. The farm is producing almost nothing now and the transfer of land from white to black ownership resulted in only perhaps $100,000 of value being realized by the “war veteran”. The former owner is, in middle age, starting over in South Afirca as an agricultural consultant. I asked him why he couldn’t have gotten a lot of money out over the years, simply by having his European customers pay him in Europe and leaving the money there. “There were currency controls and it was against the law to do it this way,” he replied. “A lot of people used double invoices and managed to circumvent the law, but we never wanted to do that.”
The tourist industry functions remarkably well in Zimbabwe. The classic Victoria Falls Hotel has maintained its standard of service and the helicopter tour company has plenty of Jet-A fuel for their well-maintained Jet Rangers. By contrast, life for the average citizen is bizarre. The gas stations haven’t had gas for a year or two. To fill up your car, you drive to Zambia or Botswana or buy gas on the black market (still cheaper than buying gas in Europe). Coke is still available in every store. Payment in hard currency is preferred, the Zim dollar having fallen roughly to the level of wallpaper.
People complain about Robert Mugabe, but they hated the old (white) government too. It is unclear why Zimbabwe should be an independent country. The GDP is only about $3 billion per year. The country is only about the size of Montana and it is landlocked. The population is 12 million and falling as people depart for jobs in neighboring nations. Without something like the old Common Market in Europe, having all of these independent nations adds impediments to commerce that are unaffordable for the locals.
Mugabe must be doing something right, Zimbabwe was just nominated to become the chairman of the UN’s Commission on Sustainable Development by the 12 African members of the UN. Unanimously. Please, educate the rest of us.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/11/wzim111.xml
And apparently, the rest of the UN concurs that Zimbabwe is a fit leader for demonstrating economic progress and environmental protection:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070511-102739-8185r.htm
The most surprising thing is that Mugabe started this self-destructive path in 2000. When my parents were in Zambia in the 90’s, Mugabe’s Zimbabwe was held as a shining example for the rest of the countries in the region, especially compared with Zambia, which was going through its own hyperinflation (though nowhere near as bad as Zimbabwe). And, believe it or not, Mugabe is an economist by training.