A Tense Moment for Zimbabwe
Posted on April 3, 2008 - Filed Under Elections, Zimbabwe |
There has been talk recently about rising inflation in the US. It is clear that prices are on the rise. It costs over $3.00 per gallon for gas. The cost of food in the supermarket is higher as wheat prices have gone up. But the kind of inflation the people of Zimbabwe have had to cope with recently is so extreme it is absolutely mind-boggling.
If you live in Zimbabwe you are a victim of hyperinflation by a government that is so mismanaged and corrupt it has eviscerated this once strong and proud economy. People walk around the street carrying heavy bricks of cash that are wrapped in thick rubber bands. If you want to buy a coke, it will cost you 30 million Zimbabwean dollars. On your way home from work you can stop off at your local supermarket and pickup a chicken for dinner (if there is even any chicken in the supermarket) for a mere $20 million. If your car is low on gas, the refill will run you about $1.8 billion.
Just before the election, President Robert Mugabe quadrupled the salary for all government employees. Normally that would be greeted with much happiness, despite it being an obvious election tactic. It didn’t work. Even with the increase, their income was so low when compared to their expenses, that it didn’t cover bus fare to and from work.
Which brings us to last Saturday, Election Day. The people of this nation have become accustomed to waiting in lines. And that’s exactly where they found themselves, waiting in some cases hours to cast their vote. Since Saturday, the waiting has continued. News has trickled out slowly. First came word that Mugabe’s party was behind. Then the election commission suddenly stopped releasing any numbers citing technical difficulties. Then results came out again, and it was clear Mugabe would lose the parliament. But what about the Presidency itself? It appears the opposition has enough for an outright win, but Mugabe may find a way to hold out for a runoff - a runoff that he would almost certaiinly lose should it be fair.
But what happens if Mugabe tries to hold on to the power that he has held for so many years? What if the military refuses to turn over to the new leadership? The situation can descend quickly into violence and bloodshed. The Zimbabwe election has an eerie resemblance to December 2007 election in Kenya, which left about a thousand dead after the results were disputed. But unlike Kenya, Zimbabwe’s economy is in complete disarray, and people are now angry. Zimbabwe could become the next Kenya, only worse, if the situation isn’t resolved quickly.
By all honest independent accounts, Robert Mugabe has lost this election and would lose any runoff should one occur. But will he step aside, and if he won’t what will it mean for the people of Zimbabwe who are sick and tired of the hyperinflation that has wrecked their nation?
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2 Responses to “A Tense Moment for Zimbabwe”
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Morgan is probably lucky to be alive after the election. Normally when there is opposition to Mugabe, the opposition riding in vehicles are normally involved in accidents with huge military vehicles and usually don’t survive. This happened to some people who opposed Mugabe back in the mid to late 90s during my stay in Harare. I’m sure Zimbabweans can recall when Mugabe tried to kill Joshua Nkomo on three different occasions.
Unemployment is in the 80% bracket with a tremendous high inflation rate. I met a Zimbabwean with an engineer degree from the Univ of Zim on the street selling Coca cola.
Over a period of time he sold coke then one day came to my apartment selling belts. I asked about the coke business. He said he was cited for selling coke without a license and the police confiscated all the coke he had - 4 bottles. He could only afford to buy no more than a 1/2 dozen at a time and he had a wife and two children to feed.
It is unlikely Mugabe will step down but I do fear an accident is going to happen to his opponent!
[…] Jason Haber wrote an interesting post today on A Tense Moment for ZimbabweHere’s a quick excerptIf you live in Zimbabwe you are a victim of hyperinflation by a government that is so mismanaged and corrupt it has eviscerated this once strong and proud economy. People walk around the street carrying heavy bricks of cash that are … […]