Zimbabwe Today - Latest Update

Zimbabwe today in 2010 is a country in a mix of hope and despair. The hope comes from the arrest of inflation through dollarization were businesses can now transact in more stable currencies. The economy has began showing signs of recovery. Formal business is returning and getting a job is showing signs of promise. The despair in Zimbabwe today revolves around the continued political problems. The inclusive government still appears to be having serious trouble finding solid ground.

The false starts on the constitutional reform process at the heels of an MDC temporary partial withdrawal from the government or rather from cooperating with Zanupf are all tell-tell signs that have left many Zimbabweans very uncomfortable. The introduction of the currencies in Zimbabwe also saw the start of a new nightmare - armed robberies. Since late 2008 when the multi-currency system started numerous armed robberies and bank heists have been reported. Most of the criminals were arrested to te credit of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

Public education, public health and general social service have been improving including to an extent prison conditions. Other international organisations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have been very active in Zimbabwe's prisons. Hospital and public education fees continue to be beyond the reach of many. In fact all government funded programs and services have generally been slow to take-off even though signs of improvement are evident.

Basic provisions are available in Zimbabwe today. Shops that once resembled a war zone after brutal looting sprees at the behest of the government of the day have now managed to refill. Specific supermarket chains such as Spar, TM and Food King dominate the grocery landscape especially in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe people indeed feel the signs of relief from a troubled Zimbabwe economy of some three years ago in the mid 2000s. Generally inflation has been on the downward trend and economic growth expected to be significant some even projecting double digit growth.

Public transportation appears to be improving too with service providers able to use stable currencies to reinvest in their businesses. Public utility service providers such as ZESA ( for electricity) and City Councils (for water) are making progress albeit slow. Water shortages are still rife in certain cities in Zimbabwe and certain suburbs in Harare in particular. The transition from the valueless Zimbabwe dollar to real currencies has also sent shock-waves to the general public concerning utility bills. Bills for water and electricity used to be amongst the cheapest in the food basket in Zimbabwe, these have now turned out to be very expensive with poor households receiving bills even as high as US$1000.00.

Food in Zimbabwe today is generally affordable with a loaf of bread costing as as little as 50cents (United States).For a days wage of $5.00 a breadwinner can pick up a few household supplies to sustain a small family for a day. This is perhaps the most appreciated of all by the general Zimbabwean populace. Comparatively, Zimbabwe is still on the expensive side taking into account what obtains in South Africa its biggest trading partner.

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