History of Zimbabwe

Covering Zimbabwe crisis, politics and currency

History of Zimbabwe is long and riddled with painful periods. The history of the formation of a nation called Zimbabwe dates back to the 1800 with the British settler occupation right through the I Chimurenga, II Chimurenga and the liberation struggle which finally gave birth to Zimbabwe on the 18th of April 1980. You may want to read facts about Zimbabwe for some fast points on Zimbabwe.

From 1980 onwards another chapter in Zimbabwe was opened which in the early 1980s witnessed day light massacre of over 20000 people in the Matebeland region as a tribal conflict. The massacre was government sponsored and lasted for years before the formation of a unity government by ZANU PF and PF ZAPU. The death of these many people became known as the Gukurahundi. A very sad and dark period in Zimbabwe's short history.

Much of 1980 to 1995 was a time of great prosperity for  Zimbabwe people with unmatched economic growth as well as bumper harvests in the fields. Cities in Zimbabwe prospered. It is within this period that Zimbabwe became known as the bread basket of Africa. In fact SADC a regional body entrusted Zimbabwe with regional food security for many years. Since then Zimbabwe turned into a basket case relying on food sponsorship from international donors and governments.

History of Zimbabwe Crisis and Currency

The brief history of Zimbabwe took a sad turn in the year 2000 with the government sanctioned inversion of white owned commercial farms. This also marked the beginning of a terrible protracted political and economic crisis in the country that would last for nearly 10 years with a ray of hope and light only coming in 2009 with the formation of a yet but troubled inclusive government.

The crisis embarrassingly ate into the integrity of the Zimbabwe currency the Zimbabwe dollar. From a value of about Z$1 to US$10 about 1996 the currency fell to millions against major currencies and further to billions and trillions. By this time most countries including Zimbabwe's neighbors would not accept the Zim dollar as foreign exchange. In 1980 the biggest denomination of a Zimbabwe dollar currency was about $20 which at that time was 1 to 1 with the British Pound. In 2008 the biggest denomination was a Z$100 trillion note.

During the period 2000 to 2009 it increasingly became common to find Zim dollar bills strewn on the streets. School children were known to refuse certain bills even though huge in number which in reality were worthless at the shops. To preserve value, fuel companies introduced fuel coupons which were sold in United States Dollars. Government was forced to endorse the sell of fuel in foreign currency after a crippling period of shortages running into years. The government's own fuel company NOCZIM could not source the foreign currency and meet the demand on the ground; apart from the frightening dog eat dog corruption involving senior government ministers. This resulted in liberalization of the energy sector (except electricity) which led to more private players to import fuel.

During the same time in the history of Zimbabwe, millions of young educated professionals in the teaching, medical and manufacturing fields left the country for greener pastures in Europe, America and South Africa. This left a dent on the population of Zimbabwe. Flights to the UK were literally full every day during that time as the UK had no visa regime against its former colony Zimbabwe. Since then stringent regulations have been introduced by British authorities but only after millions had found their way in.

The economy continued to fall very sharply as tourists avoided visiting once a top tourist destination in southern Africa.It because absolutely ridiculous to spend money in Zimbabwe as a tourist as the government fixed the official exchange rate to a level that made a cup of coffee cost as much as US$10.00. Many visitors to the country who unwittingly used credit cards received a shock of their lives on returning home to find bills running into thousands of dollars for a Zimbabwe trip that would ordinarily cost a fraction. Repeated urgent calls to the government to address this issue by tourism and hospitality operators largely went unnoticed. The impact on tourism was devastating.

As business was digesting all these troubles, the government out of political knee-jerk reactions ordered a price slash which saw prices in ALL shops slashed by up to 70%. Hordes of thugs and criminals took to the shopping centers pretending to be government enforcement agencies and looted shops. Paying a fraction of good's worth. This moment of madness in the history of Zimbabwe which lasted months wiped shop shelves clear of any products whatsoever. Many businesses went under never to recover. Unemployment spiked on account of this action.

What followed were months of starvation and hunger amongst the generality of the people save for senior politicians and rulers most of whom own farms and have means to survive. Basic foodstuffs started appearing on the streets whilst food shelves in shops were empty. All hygiene standards were abandoned with meat, milk and fish available on the streets. These were being sold exorbitantly by private individuals in foreign currency.

There were great fears of disease with cholera only appearing some years later on account of  poor city water supplies with parts of cities running dry for years. Capital of Zimbabwe Harare was most hit.

History of Zimbabwe Politics

Since 1980 until about 1990 Zimbabwe remained largely a one-party state. University of Zimbabwe students under the leadership of now President of the MDC splinter party Professor Arthur Mutambara fiercely demonstrated against the government. Their determination was for a multi-party state which gave way to the first credible opposed elections in 1990 were ZANU PF stood against a new party ZUM founded by Edgar Tekere a former ZANU PF senior founding member.

It was only the creation of the MDC in 1999 nearly 20 years after independence which gave ZANU PF a run for its money. Founded on labour movement strength the MDC gave ZANU PF serious headaches by overwhelminly defeating it at the country's first ever referundum in 2001 on a new constitution.

Pressure on ZANU PF steadily increased from MDC receiving temporary relief with the break-up of the party into two when another part of the party with mostly Matebeland senior members left the main party claiming to be the real MDC. However strong popular support remained with the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai which regrouped and continued with its quest to remove the government led by Robert Mugabe.

A highlight of the history of Zimbabwe politics was in March 2008 when Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe at the national presidential polls. Even though controversial the state appointed elections organising commission called ZEC said Mr Tsvangirai did not have the required 51% to becoming the President. The results were only released over a month later. In all previous elections results would normally be avaliable in a day or two.

The runoff presidential election which followed on June 27 2009 was a violent one which saw many people lose their lives due to untold cruel human savage which included be-headings and reports of MDC supporters being buried alive. MDC supporters were also reported to burn houses and carry out revenge attacks on ZANU PF supporters. Many of them were arrested.

People especially in rural areas lost limps and live stock to so called ZANU PF militia that operated in hordes and held forced night vigils for villagers. Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the election sighting violence on the eve of the run-off leaving Robert Mugabe to stand alone. The government went ahead with the election saying it was too late for Mr Tsvangirai to pull out and Robert Mugabe "won" 80% of the vote. Most MDC supporters stayed at home on the day obeying the call from their party leader.

11  February 2009 witnessed the swearing in of Mr Tsvangirai as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe after a long and painful negotiated settlement which many viewed as flawed. ZANU PF held on to all key ministries save for the ministry of finance which was eventually headed by an outspoken MDC senior legislator Tendai Biti

In October 2009 only 9 months into the inclusive government Mr Tsvangirai announced his party's decision to "disengage" from all contact with ZANU PF in the inclusive government which included cabinet meetings boycott as well as council of ministers meeting boycott.

Many in Zimbabwe feel the only real change will come with the departure of Robert Mugabe whom Western countries have tried in vain to force to resign through sustained media pressure and through sanctions. On his part, ZANU PF is internally disturbed as key powerful hawks take position to replace the 85 year old leader.

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Zimbabwe Exchange Rate

As of late 2008 the Zimbabwe exchange rate ceased to be of any major importance as the government dropped the use of the Zimbabwe dollar in favor of a multi-currency system.

The only exchange rates of interest in the  Zimbabwe economy today are cross rates of currencies used in Zimbabwe for instance South African Rand and Botswana Pula or American Dollar. The Zimbabwe dollar has since ceased to operate as the Zimbabwe currency effectively making Zimbabwe a country without its own currency.


However before the introduction of  foreign currency transactions in 2008, the Zimbabwe exchange rate to major currencies was determined by the parallel market system in dark allies. The Zimbabwe dollar fell to exchange rate levels of 1 US$ to Z$100 trillion. This meant that at one point a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe cost as much as Z$100 trillion. This is the time people had amounts in bank accounts of zillions of dollars.

Yet in 1995 or there about 1 Z$ was equivalent to about US$10. In 1980 the Zimbabwe dollar was at par with the British Pound.

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MDC Zimbabwe

Movement for Democratic Change Zimbabwe

In actual fact there are two MDC Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe today. The MDC was born in 1999 out of Zimbabwe's strongest labour movement the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

The party became the strongest opposition ever against the Zimbabwe president Robert Gabriel Mugabe on his 30 year grip on power. The party finally split in 2005 with the bigger chunk of support base remaining with Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) at the head office in the capital of Zimbabwe. The other MDC led by Professor Arthur Mutambara has a relatively weak support base. It's leader is controversial because of some statements often made that appear to sympathize with the Robert Mugabe regime which many hold accountable for the state of the Zimbabwe economy and the fate of the Zimbabwe currency.

The head office of MDC Zimbabwe is at Harvest House in Harare. The MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai secured almost a majority in Parliament at the march 2009 presidential and parliamentary poll. It currently holds the powerful position of Speaker of Parliament in the national House of Assembly.

The role of the MDC in writing the Zimbabwe history is undisputed.

The MDC has also other offices across the continent of Africa especially in key places such as South Africa. An office also exists in the United Kingdom as well as the United States. Within Zimbabwe, the party has provincial and other grassroots offices. These help easily mobilize support on the ground.

In 2009 the MDC entered into an inclusive government with ZANU PF party. Nine months into the partnership the MDC announced its disengagement from any cooperation with ZANU PF party especially cabinet meetings. This was followed by three weeks of sustained cabinet boycotts every Tuesday until the intervention of SADC.

Morgan Tsvangirai reversed the boycott for 30 days on the 05th of November 2009 following a SADC mini summit in Mozambique to solve the deepening divisions within the government.

MDC has a dedicated website which also covers their policies.

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Morgan Tsvangirai British Puppet?

Covering Tsvangirai Morgan Profile, biography, latest news and photos

Morgan Tsvangirai is the president of the Movement for Democratic Change [MDC] Zimbabwe's most credible opposition party that beat Zimbabwe President's Robert Mugabe at the March 29 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary Polls.

Tsvangirai as he is commonly known in the capital of Zimbabwe Harare and the streets of other cities in Zimbabwe is also the Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe.  He is the founding president of the MDC a party that was born out of Zimbabwe's fierce labor movement in the 90s. Since 2001 Tsvangirai's party has presented stiff political competition to the incumbent Mugabe at almost each and every election. 

Robert Mugabe and his party ZANU PF have long considered Tsvangirai a puppet of the west especially the British government. In turn Morgan Tsvangirai and his party the MDC have fearlessly accused Zimbabwe's President Mugabe of ruining Zimbabwe's economy and running down the Zimbabwe currency through unstoppable money printing at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

In the eyes of many observers both political leaders have made costly mistakes yet in all this Mugabe's mistakes have been more grievous than any of his political antagonists. Tsvangirai has appeared to align himself with western governments a loophole fully exploited by Mugabe's party to try and discredit him at home and in Africa.( Picture - Tsvangirai and late wife Susan Tsvangirai)

On his part, Mugabe is blamed by the opposition for an ill-thought out and violent land reform programme in 2001 that plunged the people of Zimbabwe into an abyss of hunger and abject poverty especially for those working on the farms.

Born on 10 March 1952, Morgan Tsvangirai has over the years matured into a fearless and hard to crack opposition leader. This can be said to be a direct outcome of the history of Zimbabwe in general and his own experience at the hands of the Mugabe regime for nearly 10 horrifying years.

Perhaps the lowest point of his struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe came on 6 March 2009 when he lost his wife Susan Tsvangirai (pictured above) in a serious automobile accident on the Harare Masvingo road in Zimbabwe. There were early suspicions of foul play but Tsvangirai even though injured and in pain was quick to dispel the rumors and rather accept the loss of his wife as an accident.

Unlike his counter-part from the opposition Professor Arthur Mutambara in the inclusive government created in early 2009, Tsvangirai resembles more mature statesmanship. Business and civil society and the society in general in Zimbabwe and internationally have demonstrated outspoken respect for  Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai was nominated Noble Peace Prize laureate for 2009 which was subsequently awarded to Barack Obama (seen with Tsvangirai at the State House below).

Even under the inclusive government, Tsvangirai has remained an object of attack and biased criticism by the ZANU PF controlled newspaper Zimbabwe Herald.

He is amongst few African leaders who have found favor with Washington even having an opportunity to meet with Barack Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton in mid 2009.

You may refer to the links on the right of this post for constantly updated Tsvangirai latest news and Zimbabwe news in general.

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Zimbabwe Clothing

Unlike Lesotho or Swaziland Zimbabwe clothing has generally been diluted to look more western. This is largely because of Zimbabwe history of colonization.

During times prior to colonization Zimbabwe people wore animal skin clothing that would cover the front and the back. With the coming of settlers western dressing was introduced and eroded what was once traditional dress. This traditional dress called nhembe is now left to traditionalists who are working hard to preserve cultural heritage. Even with these, they never walk the streets wearing Zimbabwe traditional clothing.

Zimbabwe therefore lacks a national dress. Even though women and men wear shirts, dresses and head gear made from African designed attire as shown in the picture this is no Zimbabwe clothing. It's African but not necessarily unique to Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe a few years ago launched what was officially to be a national dress but it never saw light of day. The nation ignored it.

Most Zimbabwe professionals wear neck ties and suits. This is the same for women professionals. All in all Zimbabwe clothing is heavily western. With the advent of globalization young people dress mostly American with baggy jeans and t-shirts in universities and colleges.

The Zimbabwe population is largely still very resistant to dressing that exposes "more than necessary" especially in women. There have been cases of women being stripped naked altogether by mobs of people for wearing mini-skirts or too short a skirt even in the capital of Zimbabwe. This includes other cities in Zimbabwe. The generality of the population is still heavily conservative.

Most clothing in Zimbabwe comes from outside. Shoes, shirts, suits and skirts are imported from China and countries such as South Africa. Clothing imports rose sharply as the Zimbabwe economy continued to fall. Local clothing factories such as David Whitehead collapsed under the weight of a poor Zimbabwe currency and falling local demand.

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Zimbabwe Food

Zimbabwe food is amazingly varied catering for people from different backgrounds including religion, cultural beliefs, social setting and dietary concerns. The majority of people in Zimbabwe which are mostly Shona and Ndebele speaking population of the country eat sadza and vegetable relish.

Sadza is special thick porridge made from maize meal or corn meal and is the staple diet of most Zimbabweans across the social divide. Sadza is usually accompanied by beef stew or chicken stew or just some green vegetables grown in backyard gardens in homes.

Rice and grilled or stewed chicken is also an important part of the Zimbabwean traditional food mix. For most rural folk this type of a meal is a special meal mostly associated with times of celebration such as Christmas, birthdays and weddings. Rice in itself is a mark of celebration and special consideration.[pictured - a typical Zimbabwe western meal.]

Other members of the Zimbabwean society find a meal in other cuisines catering for different religions such as Moslem and others. Sea food is available in Zimbabwe but is not popular amongst the generality of the population because of the relatively higher cost of the ingredients such as prawns.

Fish is however an important dietary mix for most Zimbabweans. Fish mostly comes from inland lakes and dams with some coming as far away as Beira and Maputo in Mozambique. Zimbabwe also boasts of Lake Kariba an enormous source of fish.

Potatoes are also an important  source of food in Zimbabwean households. Potatoes can be made into mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes or fries or chips as they are better known in Zimbabwe.

A typical meal in Zimbabwe has traces of onions, salt, carrots, peas, green pepper, spices or tomatoes.

Most cities in Zimbabwe have Chinese take-away restaurants apart from fast food outlets such as Chicken Inn, Nandos and others.It is possible amongst the various types of Zimbabwe food as a visitor to find the western type of food as well as local traditional food. The state of the Zimbabwe economy has impacted negatively on how much people eat out.

Peanut butter is an important ingredient in preparing a typical Zimbabwean dish. It is usually mixed with green vegetables into a paste that is consumed with sadza. this is commonly known as muriwo une dovi.

Zimbabweans in urban areas have also a special type of Zimbabwe food that is mostly enjoyed during weekends. This is braaiing or barbecuing or gochi-gochi in local language. This involves grilling huge portions of beef and pork chops to enjoy with drinks. Usually people eat whilst standing and exchanging jokes and stories. This is typical of the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare.

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Zimbabwe Culture - An anatomy

Covering Zimbabwe religion

Zimbabwe culture is deeply engraved in many of Zimbabwe people even for those who live in the different cities of Zimbabwe.

One of the key aspects of culture in Zimbabwe is respect for elders. Young people are taught at a tender age to respect elders and entertain strangers. This is the kind of Zimbabwe culture practiced and cherished by a significant population of Zimbabwe. It is also cultural for a young man who is marrying to pay lobola (bride price) to the father and family of his bride-to-be. Most marriages in Zimbabwe are customary marriages which are also recognized by law.

It is in Zimbabwe culture to treat visitors well by preparing a special meal especially including Zimbabwe food such as rice and stewed chicken. However in recent years the failing Zimbabwe economy played havoc with this age old custom.

A father under Shona culture in Zimbabwe is the head of the house and directs the affairs of a household. Even though fading due to massive campaigns against HIV AIDS in Zimbabwe some men have two or three wives. Polygamy is common in some rural areas but rare amongst urbanites and the younger generation. The new distasteful version of polygamy amongst a huge percentage of Zimbabwean men is unofficial polygamy known as small house. This is unknown to the "first" wife and can run for years. It's is thought to be the major cause of rapid spread of HIV amongst Zimbabweans.

When a father dies in Zimbabwe culture, his sons have the right to inherit his estate ahead of a female sibling. This is because it is dearly held that sons are the only ones that perpetuate the name of the family. Daughters take on another name (husbands name) after getting married. However, changes are occurring. In the last 15 years this practice was successfully challenged in a test case at the high court in Zimbabwe and a female sibling managed to inherit her fathers estate.

A significant number of Zimbabweans hold traditional medicine and sangomas in high regard. In fact traditional religion is equally popular in Zimbabwe just as much as Christianity. It is true that most people even business people rely on traditional interventions to help their businesses prosper or to succeed in politics.

It is in Zimbabwe tradition to mourn the dead for a few days by gathering at their place of residence night and day before burying them. Cremation is very rare amongst indigenous Zimbabweans. In fact it's a near taboo. In most cases those who die are buried in rural homesteads. However due to frequency of death and the cost of transportation most people in urban areas are opting to bury the dead in city cemeteries.

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Cities in Zimbabwe

Covering cities in Zimbabwe namely Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Kwekwe and smaller towns

Key cities in Zimbabwe altogether are five in number. Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe and is located in Mashonaland region. Harare stands alone as one of the ten provinces in Zimbabwe. The City itself is best explained as New York City in New York State.Harare is fully covered here under capital of Zimbabwe. It is efficiently linked to other cities by a relatively good standard of road networks. It takes about 6 hours to drive from Bulawayo the furthest city from the capital.

Bulawayo

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe and the capital of the Matebeland region. It has an estimated over 1 million people and lays some good 580km from the capital. It is the the nearest city to the borders with South Africa with Botswana being the closest. Bulawayo is served by daily flights from Johannesburg South Africa - South Africa Airways- and from Harare by the local airline Air Zimbabwe. It takes about 55 minutes by air from Harare to Bulawayo and daily morning and evening flights are available. However, Air Zimbabwe delays may occur.Air Zimbabwe also flies from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls. Charter flights can be arranged from Charles Prince Airport in Harare.

In the last two years some private players have set-up some luxury coaches which ply the Bulawayo-Harare route on a daily basis. It is also possible to travel to South Africa and Botswana from Bulawayo by bus. Bookings are made from Bulawayo. The rail network once used to be functional but has since almost collapsed and when functioning is plagued by heavy delays sometimes running into 24 hours.

Bulawayo is a hub city in Zimbabwe serving tourists visiting the Victoria Falls and Zimbabwean safaris and game parks in the southern part of the country. The hospitality of the Zimbabwe people is equally present in Bulawayo.

Like the capital Harare, Bulawayo has also badly dilapidated infrastructure as a result of the terrible 10 years of steady economic and political decline in Zimbabwe. It is run by the opposition political party MDC which is a splinter group from the Morgan Tsvangirai led MDC with head offices in Harare.

Still on politics, Bulawayo is also home base for the recently re-launched ZAPU party which announced its dis-unity from ZANU PF led by Robert Gabriel Mugabe who is also the President of Zimbabwe Perception wise most Zimbabweans and outsiders have long viewed ZAPU as a tribal party catering for the Ndebele people in Matebeland which Bulawayo is found. The party is however making frantic efforts to change that perception and present itself as a national party for all Zimbabweans.

In terms of public transportation within the city, most visitors prefer private and professional taxi cabs than non-time bound abusive daily public transport called combiz.

Bulawayo has some hotel accommodation of relatively good standards. The key city hotels include Holiday Inn.


Gweru

Located in the Midlands province, Gweru is amongst the important cities in Zimbabwe. It is the capital of the Midlands region which lays at the heart of Zimbabwe. Gweru does not have much to offer in terms of tourism or places of heritage. It is a popular stopover point for travelers between Harare and Bulawayo. It offers no first class hotels but will certainly accommodate the back-packer.

Kwekwe

Kwekwe comes before Gweru when traveling from Harare to Bulawayo. It is a relatively small city with a population of about 500 000 people. It mostly developed as a result of gold mining and later established itself as the center of iron production with the near-by Ziscosteel Zimbabwe's largest steel producer, perhaps the biggest in Southern Africa. Few travelers make Kwekwe their destination but rather pass through on the way to Harare or Bulawayo.

Mutare

Mutare is commonly known as a border town between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It takes less than 10 minutes of driving to cross into Mozambique from Mutare in Zimbabwe. It is also a key tourism hub for visitors coming to the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. The city is itself surrounded by mountains and popular tourist attractions in Manicaland include Nyanga which is a town in itself.

Other smaller towns in Zimbabwe include Kariba, Masvingo, Chinhoyi, Kadoma, Marondera, Bindura, Victoria falls, Chiredzi and Rusape. These small towns have set goals to apply for city status and over time many of them get closer to the goal.

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Zimbabwe Photos - Avondale, CBD

Some more Zimbabwe Photos. You may view the first set of Zimbabwe pictures and second set of pictures from  Zimbabwe.

This photo shows Avondale shopping center in Harare. The center is popular for movies, restaurants, fast food and has some grocery shops and electronic shops. It is an active spot at night especially weekends.

Above - the Harare Main Post Office building along Leopold Takawira street. Going in the direction of the pictured vehicle ones ends up at Crown Plaza Monomutapa Hotel. The post office building is important in all distance calculations in Zimbabwe. Distance from Harare to an place in Zimbabwe is measured from this building going out.

Zimbabwe people are well known for their excellent craft work. Here a fully fledged craft market is pictured in Newlands area in Harare Zimbabwe. Most of the craft work is around reeds and stone (not pictured see below)

Some more art work this time in stone from the same market. Zimbabwe art attracts thousands of buyers yearly.

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Masvingo Zimbabwe

The home of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins

Masvingo in Zimbabwe is amongst the top cities in Zimbabwe. It is the capital of Masvingo province and is located in the south-eastern part of the country. The capital of Zimbabwe is Harare. Masvingo is essentially a tourist city because of the massive and amazing Great Zimbabwe monument located a few kilometers from the city itself.

The city has a significant number of people as its populace with a small central business district where grocery supplies can be purchased. There are also restaurants and take-aways to access Zimbabwe food. Banking facilities are also available in Masvingo with international banks such as Barclays Bank present. These now accept international credit cards. Now that Zimbabwe currency is essentially foreign currency, it is much easier to find basic supplies in shops including fuel for cars. It is also less of a hassle to be dealing with any Zimbabwe exchange rate as was the case during the dark Zimbabwe dollar days.

Masvingo is not serviced by any commercial airlines. Most visitors drive. Charter aircraft can be arranged from Harare International Airport or Charles Prince Airport in Harare. However only small aircraft like the Cessna and other slightly bigger ones will be able to access Masvingo.

A visitor on a Zimbabwe trip to Masvingo from say the USA or Europe typically takes the following route. Fly into Johannesburg, South Africa. Connect on South African Airways into Harare (afternoon or evening). Drive from Harare to Masvingo. Or fly from London direct to Harare on Air Zimbabwe ( British Airways removed direct flights to Harare sighting poor business performance). Then drive from Harare to Masvingo. It is also possible to fly into Johannesburg South Africa and drive by road some gruesome 800 km or 500 miles to Masvingo.

Once in Harare it is possible to hire a car to travel to Masvingo with. In Harare there are car hire companies such as Europecar and Avis.

The city is some 300km south of Harare and is linked to the country's capital by a tared road which passes through the city all the way to the boarder with South Africa at Beitbridge border post. It is therefore possible to drive from South Africa to Masvingo in Zimbabwe. This highway has some toll gates along the way requiring all small vehicles to pay about US$1.00 (one dollar) per crossing.

For visitors extra care is needed on the Masvingo highway which is notorious for deadly accidents. The wife of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai died in a freak accident in 2009 on this same highway.

The highest institution of learning in Masvingo is the Masvingo State University. The city also has full fledged police service, hospitals, doctors and pharmacies for any medication requirements.

Visitors to Masvingo report a great hospitality of the Zimbabwe people. The most popular hotel in Masvingo is Great Zimbabwe Hotel which is owned and operated by African Sun Hotels with head office in Harare. It is possible to make your booking via central reservations in Harare or over the internet by email.

There are other hotels and bed and breakfast facilities in Masvingo Zimbabwe but these are outdone by Great Zimbabwe Hotel due to its close proximity to the great Zimbabwe monument. Whilst in Masvingo you may also find Zimbabwe stone art and craft works. You may also purchase special Zimbabwe clothing garments such as batiks.

Many foreign visitors have favorable memories of Masvingo in general and great Zimbabwe hotel in particular.

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Zimbabwe Agriculture - history, present and where to from here

Zimbabwe agriculture is at the center of the catastrophe that started in 2001. The main reason for the rapid decline of the Zimbabwe economy, and its currency can be directly linked back to the land grab of 2001.

Like many other developing countries Zimbabwe heavily relies on agriculture to sustain its economy. In fact before the start if the Zimbabwe land inversions agriculture accounted for 41% of exports and some good 18% contribution to national GDP. Even though Zimbabwe's agriculture at the time of sharp and terrible decline of the early 2000s was mostly on cash crops, diversification had already began with more and more farmers venturing into horticulture.

Zimbabwe agricultural products

Zimbabwe's agricultural products are vast the following are some of them produced on a commercial scale;

1. Tobacco
2. Cotton
3. Maize
4. Sugar cane
5. Tea
6. Coffee
7. Fresh Flowers - roses etc
8. Citrus fruits
   
9. Dairy cows
10. Piggery
11. Beef

Despite the shocking decay in the agricultural sector of the economy the government of Zimbabwe  is still confident that agriculture will be restarted and regain its top status in the region of southern African.

Each year in the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare and other smaller towns and cities in Zimbabwe agricultural shows are organized as way of promoting small scale commercial farming and give agriculture its national prominence.

The agricultural sector in Zimbabwe is a wide scale employer especially of poor communities in rural areas. Prior to 2001 Zimbabwe agriculture was essentially run and controlled by the minority Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) which was mostly dominated by about 4500 white commercial farmers. These were in charge of 1/3 of the most productive land in the country.

Today after the controversial land reform programme under President Mugabe it is public knowledge that those linked to the ruling party of ZANUPF control much of the land with many holding multiple farms the tragedy of it all being that much of the land is under equipped and underutilized.

Efforts to carry out an independent land audit post the chaos of 2001 have been fiercely resisted within government. Even today in December 2009 there are continued reports of fresh inversions of farm land.

For many agriculture in Zimbabwe will only shine again after a thorough land redistribution exercise targeting powerful politicians guided by an independent land audit. In addition without relevant technology, inputs and machinery it will remain a pipe dream. Careful planning is also required to ensure inputs arrive in time ahead of a season which is not the case at the momment. Today fertiliser and seed arrive to most farmers half way into the season sometimes never.

The results are there for all to see.

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Zanupf for or aganist people of Zimbabwe?

Zanupf is the only governing political party that the people of Zimbabwe have ever known since the advent of independence in Zimbabwe in 1980. Zanu PF has an undisputed role played in the history of Zimbabwe.

The party has been accused by its critics led by Morgan Tsvangirai and his party the MDC for mismanagement of the Zimbabwe economy which subsequently made a mockery of the Zimbabwe currency the Zimbabwe Dollar. Under its own structures the party has not known any other leader except Robert Mugabe who is also the President of Zimbabwe.

Zanu PF has a military style  structure that starts at the national level and cascades down to the branch and cell level right at the grass root level. The party's organization and philosophy heavily borrows from communist China and socialist Russia. In fact Zanu PF and by extension the Republic of Zimbabwe has many friends in the east which are former communist and socialists countries.

In Zimbabwe Zanupf is evidently unpopular in urban areas especially among the now depleted working class and young modern people. See jobs in Zimbabwe. This has been the case in almost all the cities in Zimbabwe. This trend has in the last few years also caught on in rural areas with Zanu PF loosing key political positions in national elections. For this reason, there is overwhelming evidence of forced voting and beatings and even killings of political opponents in order to secure desperately wanted votes.

Due to the pain and suffering allegedly caused by Zanu PF during election time many in rural areas have been quoted wishing elections away. Some have even labeled Zanu PF the mafia due to alleged organized crime from the raiding of national funds at the reserve bank of Zimbabwe for party purposes to the use of state security instruments for the party's gain.

All in all the line between the party and the national government have grown amazingly thin or non-existent at all in the last few years. Zanupf has fast become the state and the state Zanu PF. The ideology and alleged bureaucratic bungling engraved in Zanu PF has over the years found its way into the political and economic DNA of Zimbabwe as a body politic.

In some sections the party has been praised and more often than not even worshiped for wealth and land "redistribution".

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Zimbabwe Photos - Extra Extra

Here You will find more Zimbabwe pictures. You may see more previous Zimbabwe photos

This bill board advertises AVIS Car rental service in Harare Zimbabwe. It's situated along Second Street extension in the Avondale area. The girl pictured resembles a typical Zimbabwe 8 to 5 working professional full of friendly attitude typical of most Zimbabwe people.

 

Apartments or flats like these are common in Harare the capital of Zimbabwe. These are located in the Avenues area of Harare and  have one or two bedrooms with rentals ranging from US$150 to US$200 per month. Typically the flats are overcrowded due to Harare's accommodation problems.Children play under trees for lack of proper amenities.

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe's largest mobile operator in late 2009 went about the city erecting billboards such as this one. Some people wrote letters of complaints to the Zimbabwe Herald. They argued the giant billboards are an eye sore and spoil the city skyline.For those in Harare this is a clear sign of a recovering Zimbabwe economy due to a stable "Zimbabwe currency" found in multi-currencies. There are many vendors across the city inter-sections as one standing here. They sell mobile phone calling time (airtime) to motorists.

 

I took this picture in "downtown" Harare. In Zimbabwe downtown is actually the oldest part of the city full of both human and vehicle traffic and to an extent a higher level of petty crime. This van is the bread van one of the popular brands in Zimbabwe. It's common to find vehicles like this open truck to the left on Zimbabwe's roads. Pedestrians also dangerously frequently cross busy streets right in the middle of traffic.

MORE ZIMBABWE PICTURES


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Mail and Guardian Online - Trevor Ncube

Mail and Guardian Online is the internet version of the South African print newspaper Mail and Guardian.

The online version of the paper is said to have been the first newspaper to utilize the internet in Africa back in 1994. The news website itself is owned 87.5% by a Botswana registered company Newtrust Company Botswana Limited, owned by Zimbabwean publisher and entrepreneur Trevor Ncube.

The online paper is run from the same media house as the print version in Johannesburg , South Africa. It has its own full time staff and regularly is the first with breaking news on Africa and the world in general. It would appear that most of Africa's diaspora reads daily the Mail and Guardian internet version for latest updates from Africa.

The online paper has in the last ten years played a leading role in giving highlight and constant coverage of the Zimbabwe crisis including the Zimbabwe economic and Zimbabwe currency trouble.


Trevor Ncube the owner of the Mail and Guardian Online and the Mail and Guardian Newspaper also owns two Zimbabwe's only independent newspapers The Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard.

Trevor Ncube has in the past clashed with the President of Zimbabwe in encounters largely seen as political. As of November 2009, plans are at an advanced stage to launch a new Zimbabwe daily called NewsDay that would directly compete with the state owned Zimbabwe Herald newspaper.

The Mail and Guardian can be accessed online by following this link.

In external News Archives

• Ncube to launch daily newspaper (The Zimbabwe Times - March 2009)
• NCBL acquires majority shareholding of Mail & Guardian (Bizcommunity.com - July 2002)

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Zimbabwe President

Robert Gabriel Mugabe - Gushungo

Zimbabwe president was born on the 21st of February 1924. His birthday is celebrated in Zimbabwe predominantly by his supporters and ZANU PF party as the 21st February Movement.

Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe is also known as Gushungo being his totem according to Zimbabwe culture and African culture in general. He has been the president of Zimbabwe presiding over the Zimbabwe people for 22 consecutive years. He as sworn into office on the 31st of December 1987 taking over from the late Canaan Sidindo Banana who was then a ceremonial president and Mugabe an Executive Prime Minister.

The Zimbabwe president is married to wife Grace Mugabe. Grace Mugabe is Robert Mugabe's second wife after the passing of his first wife Sally Mugabe of Ghanaian origin from kidney failure on the 27th of January 1992. His residence is in the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare.

President Mugabe is an important figure in Zimbabwe politics. In fact Zimbabwe politics since 1980 for nearly 30 years has revolved around him. The future and current state of Zimbabwe has largely been an outcome of the thoughts and intentions of the man Robert Mugabe.

He is blamed by many observers and the western world particularly USA and Britain for the dramatic demise of the Zimbabwe economy which saw the dismal performance of the Zimbabwe currency.

His critics have accused him of great human rights violations beginning with the dreadful persecution of political opponents as early as 1980 to about 1987 in Matebeleland province of Zimbabwe. Bulawayo was amongst the cities in Zimbabwe badly affected by this terrible tribal upheaval in the history of Zimbabwe. This period is known in Zimbabwe as the Gukurahundi which is estimated to have stolen the lives of over 20000 people.

The Gukurahundu was state sanctioned and executed by state actors especially the military. The only known "apology" from Robert Mugabe concerning this period was that it was a "moment of madness".

Since then to his credit Zimbabwe President has made visible efforts to unite Zimbabweans across the tribal divide save for the political divide. His visibly greatest opponents have been opposition politicians especially Morgan Tsvangirai of the popular MDC party.

Human rights and governance advocates including opposition party leaders have accused Robert Gabriel Mugabe of using state machinery such as the police, state intelligence and the army to silence and even physically eliminate his perceived enemies. The history of Zimbabwe is riddled with  inconclusive and unexplained deaths and disappearances of political opponents both real and perceived.

The Government of Zimbabwe under the leadership of Robert Mugabe has tightly controlled the media with all TV and Radio stations in Zimbabwe controlled 100% by the state. Little room for plurality has been found in the print media especially newspapers of which many of them have since been shut down.

The two remaining truly independent newspapers in Zimbabwe is the Zimbabwe Independent and The Zimbabwe Standard both owned by publisher Trevor Ncube and also the owner of the leading South African Weekly The Mail and Guardian Newspaper and its online version Mail and Guardian  Online.

Trevor Ncube himself has suffered at the hands of Zimbabwe police and intelligence officials including the confiscation of his passport and threat to have his Zimbabwe nationality revoked. He almost fell stateless.

A major highlight of Zimbabwe president's political career was his humiliating defeat at the national presidential polls by Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC party. The election was held in March 2009. For many the outcome of the election was a somewhat missed graceful occasion for Robert Mugabe to exist politics. CNN reports on the evening of the announcement of the first round of results quoted unconfirmed reports through unnamed sources that Robert Mugabe had conceded defeat and would step-down.

Following the reports there was total silence on the news of the results for many hours before his party came out with a different position. Speculation is rife in Harare that army generals persuaded him to stay on and resist the defeat.

For many in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe's image is too late to repair locally and abroad.

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Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe - The printing machine

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe or RBZ has it is affectionately known by its employees has been singled out by President of Zimbabwe opponents like Morgan Tsvangirai for single-handedly destroying the Zimbabwe economy.

The RBZ governor Gideon Gono  is on record for admitting to unstoppable printing of the Zimbabwe dollar currency. Under his stewardship of the central bank did inflation skyrocket into trillions of dollars. The bank is also accused of bank rolling Zanupf political campaign expenses through excessive money printing.

This cartoon  above from Zimdaily shows government senior officers and ministers lining-up to get free money from the RBZ depicted by the ATM

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe over the last 10 years from year 2000 to about 2010 got into overdrive concerning involvement in non-core business such as loans to farmers and purchase of farm implements on behalf of the Zimbabwe government. The RBZ even bought cars and televisions, computes and other benefits for judges. It also participated in the invigilation and marking of exams at a national scale.


It is strongly believed by many analysts that the reserve bank for years in a row ran the entire government and broad economics of the country. The central bank is known to have left the printing machine on full throttle with fresh clean  un-circulated notes finding their way onto the parallel market to purchase foreign exchange from the dark corners of Harare the capital of Zimbabwe on behalf of senior government officials and politicians.

During this same period painful withdrawal limits were imposed on bank accounts by the central bank to an extent of people withdrawing an equivalent of US$5.00 per day due to inflation hardly enough to meet day to day personal needs.

Gideon Gono the reserve bank governor oversaw the slashing of zeros from the Zimbabwe currency thrice before the final introduction of the multi-currency system in 2009 due to unsustainable levels of inflation in Zimbabwe

This cartoon  above also from Zimdaily shows the man Gono just behind the reserve bank building desperately looking for once thrown away keys to stop the printing press.

The following are some of Zimbabwe's currency notes introduced by the Reserve Bank between 2000 and 2009.

The $1.00 note introduced in 2008 on slashing of 10 zeros from the Zimbabwe currency. It was intended to help with change. Within a month it was no-longer useful due to a ferocious return of inflation.

$5.00 introduced after the slashing of the zeros.Printed on highly quality paper with all security features.

The $5.00 note introduced on the third and final round of zero slashing from the national currency. Its quality was way poorer as it was printed on sub-standard paper unlike the $5.00 that was printed in Germany.

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