Why Did Zimbabwe Fail?

One of the questions all Zimbabweans ask is why did we begin relatively well in the 1980s and early 1990s, but began to collapse in the last decade? In the areas of education, health, water supply, etc., Zimbabwe was considered to be a “star”, but it lost its star status over the last decade, with the collapse of the education and health systems, and the outbreak of cholera as a result of the collapse of the water provision system. The very areas where Zimbabwe was regarded as outstanding were the areas which collapsed. Why could we not sustain the progress we had made in the first two decades of Independence? Surely we knew how to be successful?

The standard answer provided by ZANU PF is “sanctions”, but we should remind ourselves that Ian Smith’s Rhodesia suffered from even worse sanctions than ourselves: they did not receive foreign assistance or foreign investment, yet nobody can doubt that they were financially solvent. We became financially bankrupt. Why?

The real reason can be found in the change in ideology of the then ruling party, ZANU PF. With the change of ideology came growing corruption. ZANU PF’s new ideology was firmly grounded in corruption. Whereas in the first decade and a half, there was an enthusiastic attempt to help the poor, on whom they had depended for support during the Liberation Struggle, this had ended by the mid-1990s, and has completely disappeared over the last decade. Whereas in the first decade and a half, schools and health facilities were provided for the poor, but the mid-1990s, it was replaced by good education and health only for those who could afford it. The rich became richer, what is termed “filthy rich”, whilst the poor became poorer than ever before. Whilst the rich can boast 2, 3 or even 35 cars each, the poor cannot afford to eat even one meal a day. Over the last decade the poor became reliant on donors for food. Zimbabweans were reduced to beggars, whilst those in power concentrated on increasing their personal wealth.

Whilst the 1980s were characterised by ambitious house building for the poor, by 2000 only the very rich could build houses, the poor being condemned to living in plastic and cardboard shacks. 22 roomed houses became the order of the day for the rich. Moreover, no effort was made to provide jobs for the 400 000 children who leave school every year, only half of whom have secondary education. The children of the rich were sent out of the country for secondary and university education, whilst they allowed the once brilliant education system to deteriorate.

Many of the ruling class who became filthy rich are routinely corrupt. There are countless well known episodes of corruption to titillate us. There was the ZUPCO scandal, where ministers got away with known crimes. There were the GMB scandals, where ministers took tons of maize to give away as election bribes. They got away with it. There was the water purification scandals. This caused the death of at least 4000 people from cholera. No one has been prosecuted for this. There are the land acquisition scandals involving both urban and farm lands. They have got away with it. We hear of millions of dollars spent on jatropha processing plants and plantations, but amazingly nothing is produced. These are public funds, abused and misused to enrich a few people. Corruption has become a cancer destroying the society.

Under the Inclusive Government, some things have changed. Education, health and water have received a lot of attention from donors, and are improving. However, it does look like the members of the Inclusive Government are more interested in using their power to enrich themselves, in the same way that ZANU PF leaders have done over the last decade. The signs are there: the demand for imported vehicles; the number of posh vehicles per minister; the fight over powerful positions; the holding of meetings in the most expensive hotels; the wastage of funds; etc., etc.

Unless the Inclusive Government is serious about solving the real economic problems, such as providing jobs for all, reviving Zimbabwean industries, and ensuring food security, the situation will remain more or less as it was under ZANU PF. The former opposition parties of the MDC are in danger of being swallowed up by the ZANU PF ideology. We need a Government which concentrates on development, on food security, on building up national industries, rather than a Government which concentrates solely on individual enrichment. We need to see economic crimes not only highlighted, but also justice being done. The cancer of corruption cannot be allowed to destroy the nation.