Once known as the bread basket of Africa because of its huge agricultural industry, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) enjoyed a booming economy, the richest in Africa, even surpassing South Africa.
Following Rhodesia coming to an end in 1980, Zimbabwe remained stable, and the economy grew and racial tensions eased. The country was know not only for feeding itself but the entire continent.
As other southern African countries, Zimbabwean soil is rich in raw materials, namely platinum, coal, iron ore, and gold. Zimbabwe’s mineral exports totalled $1.8 billion. As one of the continent’s most advanced nations it boasted decent schools and health care too.
In 1992, a World Bank study indicated that more than 500 health centres had been built since 1980. The percentage of children vaccinated increased from 25% in 1980 to 67% in 1988, and life expectancy increased from 55 to 59 years.
Enrolment increased by 232 percent one year after primary education was made free, and secondary school enrolment increased by 33 percent in two years.But these social policies lead to an increase in the debt ratio.
So what led to its devastating downfall?
Almost a quarter of Zimbabweans are currently in need of food assistance and 72% live in poverty. Within a generation, Mr Mugabe has turned an entire country upside down by going to war, overspending, and pursuing reckless policies that suited his political dogma.
Between 2000 and December 2007, the national economy contracted by as much as 40%; inflation vaulted to over 66,000%, and there were persistent shortages of hard currency, fuel, medicine, and food. GDP per capita dropped by 40%, agricultural output dropped by 51% and industrial production dropped by 47%.
Fuel shortages were so bad that morgue workers rented dead bodies out so people could pretend to be hearse drivers and be allowed to jump petrol queues instead of waiting days to fill up/
During President Robert Mugabe’s reign from 1987 to 2017 the country went from riches to rags and he went from respected freedom fighter who overturned white minority rule to a brutal dictator operating under a one party rule. He promised racial harmony, but instead tore apart the once-prosperous country. White farmers had their valuable lands seized on his orders and handed them to the families of resistance fighters.
A controversial programme that caused the demolition of illegal housing structures was implemented rendering hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans homeless. The economy continued to decline, and in 2007 the country had the highest rate of inflation in the world, as well as one of the highest rates of unemployment.
Most Zimbabweans did not have adequate access to basic commodities, such as food or fuel, and Mugabe’s administration continued to be the subject of much international criticism.
The answer is its former leader Robert Mugabe, who managed to squander nearly all of it.
He ruled the country from 1987 to 2017. Before that, he was Prime Minister, the head of government, after being elected in 1980. For many years before he resigned, Mugabe ruled his country in the style of a dictator.
He began as a revolutionary hero, who fought racial oppression and stood up to Western imperialism and neo-colonialism but ended up destroying the economic power of Zimbabwe’s white community, which was based on their hold over the country’s most fertile land.
However, his compatriots – except for a small, well-connected elite – paid the price, with the destruction of what had once been one of Africa’s most diversified economies.
Towards the end of his tenure it became a common sight in the capital of Zimbabwe to see fearful citizens queuing outside banks, waiting hopefully for cash.
Today over 70% of Zimbabweans are classified as poor. This means that despite more positive GDP growth figures in recent years, the majority of the population is living in abject poverty, unable to afford basic necessities like food, healthcare, and housing.
However the World Bank has high hopes for Zimbabwe. It said in a report publishedlast month: “Zimbabwe is a lower middle-income country with strong human and natural capital and significant growth potential.
“Building on its highly educated workforce, abundant natural resources, and recent advances in economic policy, together with key structural and institutional reforms, Zimbabwe could achieve steady and rapid growth and move towards an upper middle-income country status, which the Government of Zimbabwe has targeted for 2030.