Opinion / Columnist
'Fantasy world in Zimbabwe'
30 Oct 2017 at 06:27hrs | Views
A Vigil emissary just returned from a clandestine visit home reports finding a fantasy world in Zimbabwe where the government pretends that all is well while sending agents to scour the streets to buy up the remaining dollars.
It's not so much Back to the Future as Forward to the Past, with inflation expert Professor Steve Hanke of John Hopkins University in the United States saying Zimbabwe is again experiencing hyperinflation, returning to the dark days which culminated in the economic collapse of 2008
In a report published this week he estimates the current rate of inflation at 348%. The market price for a real US dollar is 70% more than the government's bond notes.
Professor Hanke said: 'Zimbabwe, welcome back to the record books! You have once again entered the inglorious world of hyperinflation. It is a world of economic chaos, wrenching poverty and death.
Our activist found a feeling of hopelessness wherever he went - in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo . . . 'You look everywhere; you don't see any hope', he said. 'People have lost faith in democracy under Zanu-PF. Eighty percent say the elections won't change anything. They focus on bread and butter issues, feeding the family.'
He continued: 'The election is a non-event. There is a perception that opposition leaders are involved in business deals with Zanu-PF and, anyway, people who do not support Zanu-PF face all sorts of hurdles in registering to vote while Zanu-PF has already registered its own people.'
'The international community is happy. They have a good excuse for doing nothing. One foreign official told me that, for a conflict situation, Zimbabwe was peaceful, exuding normality. We like it here.'
Our emissary said those hoping for change must rely on a Eureka moment. The Vigil thinks this may well come with a total collapse of the economy.
It's not so much Back to the Future as Forward to the Past, with inflation expert Professor Steve Hanke of John Hopkins University in the United States saying Zimbabwe is again experiencing hyperinflation, returning to the dark days which culminated in the economic collapse of 2008
In a report published this week he estimates the current rate of inflation at 348%. The market price for a real US dollar is 70% more than the government's bond notes.
Professor Hanke said: 'Zimbabwe, welcome back to the record books! You have once again entered the inglorious world of hyperinflation. It is a world of economic chaos, wrenching poverty and death.
Our activist found a feeling of hopelessness wherever he went - in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo . . . 'You look everywhere; you don't see any hope', he said. 'People have lost faith in democracy under Zanu-PF. Eighty percent say the elections won't change anything. They focus on bread and butter issues, feeding the family.'
He continued: 'The election is a non-event. There is a perception that opposition leaders are involved in business deals with Zanu-PF and, anyway, people who do not support Zanu-PF face all sorts of hurdles in registering to vote while Zanu-PF has already registered its own people.'
'The international community is happy. They have a good excuse for doing nothing. One foreign official told me that, for a conflict situation, Zimbabwe was peaceful, exuding normality. We like it here.'
Our emissary said those hoping for change must rely on a Eureka moment. The Vigil thinks this may well come with a total collapse of the economy.
Source - ZimVigil
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