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Zimbabwe in Crisis: Mugabe's policies and failures
Hany Besada and Nicky Moyo, Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
October 01, 2008

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Introduction

In 1980, Zimbabwe emerged from British colonial rule under the leadership of Robert Mugabe and his independence movement. With its strong colonial infrastructure, a high level of social cohesion, and an abundance of government promises for reform, equality, and African autonomy, Zimbabwe arguably had enormous potential to become a strong independent African state.

Within the first decade of independence, however, President Mugabe had reneged on his promises to provide Zimbabweans with basic government services, adequate living standards, and a democratic and representative government that embraced the rule of law and fundamental human freedom, and the country began to spiral out of control.

Economic decline was quick to follow, and Zimbabwe saw a re-emergence of ethnic tensions along both regional and political lines. One lingering issue that haunted the newly independent state was the slow progress of land redistribution.

Before independence, the country had undergone a series of land resettlement programs, many of which were guided by the United Kingdom in favour of white settlers. Yet, successful changes have yet to materialize: land continues to be used primarily as a means of bolstering political support, despite government claims of unbiased redistribution in the interest of the landless peasants who have tilled the land for decades.

Mugabe and his ruling party, the Zimbabwean African National Union - Popular Front (ZANU-PF), have met threats of chaos with increasingly authoritarian policies, which inevitably have sparked further discontent across the country.

The country's land crisis and its aggravating effect on economic stability and growth reveal a country that has gone from the admiration and envy of its neighbours to near-complete collapse and abject poverty. The key to economic recovery will be the resolution of the long drawn-out struggle for a successor to President Robert Mugabe. The final outcome is likely to be determined not so much by open processes in the ruling party as by the dominant constituencies, such as the armed forces, whose leadership is increasingly represented in both government and business.

The National crisis

In the decade following independence in 1980, Zimbabwe recorded solid economic growth of approximately 2.9 percent, well above the southern African regional average of 1.7 percent (UNCTAD, 2007b). Meanwhile, living standards improved significantly, with life expectancy reaching 59 years in 1990, before collapsing to 37 years in 2005 (World Bank, 2007). By 1999, Zimbabwe had begun to experience a deepening economic collapse of unprecedented proportions. The crisis was attributed to a number of political, economic, and environmental factors, and largely blamed on the Mugabe government's ill-fated policies.

These policies can be placed categorically within the context of poor governance, economic mismanagement, and loss of support of the international community, following repeated human rights violations and manipulated electoral processes and failed elections, all compounded by periods of drought. The collapse was triggered by the government's decision in 1997 to ignore fiscal constraints by making large payments to veterans of the independence struggle, as a way of buying their loyalty and political support in the upcoming elections.

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