Former President Robert Mugabe, who died in September may mark the end of an era of political instability and economic mismanagement. Yet, his political successor as also the person responsible for his ouster from the rule characterized by years of misrule, corruption and nepotism – Emmerson Mnangagwa- is still struggling to hold the bull by the horn. His promised economic reform and accelerating the massive flow of investments are still remaining as pipe dreams, despite his attendance at the recent World Economic Forum meeting held at Cape Town recently.
Zimbabwe is ranked 155th out of 190 countries listed in the World Bank’s 2019 Ease of Doing Business. To his credit Mnangagwa has not lost his steam. He is still appealing to global investors to invest in his country and is periodically holding dialogue with them taking time off from his busy schedule. Yet, the results are on the fringes.
Despite Mnangagwa’s assurances of an economic turnaround by year-end, Zimbabwe’s economy is in a tailspin. The country inflation has spiked amid a crippling cash shortage. Fuel and electricity are in critically short supply. Essential goods are shortage. Amidst that, the country’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is on a rebellious riot and organised nationwide protests in August against the deteriorating economy. The court intervention has stalled the government’s move to disrupt the protests. Sandwiched between the protestors and lackadaisical political apparatus, the common man is suffering. How long and how much he (common man) has to suffer are still not clear.
