Zimbabwe plans to build new city for the rich

A brochure depicts pristine walkways, towering high rises and shining malls - all to be shared by a multiracial coterie of well-heeled residents. Plans also call for a solar plant, an important draw for a country currently experiencing 19-hour daily power cuts, and the use of blockchain technology. Digital asset accounts will be permitted.

That's a world apart from Harare, which in two decades has transformed from a well-maintained city into what it is today: an urban sprawl riddled with potholes where refuse is rarely collected, electricity supply is more often off than on and many suburbs and townships have had no reliable running water for years.

The planned development in Mount Hampden reflects "a ruling elite preoccupation not to interrupt their lives by having to see dirt and poverty," said Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

In 2005, Zimbabwe's leaders cleared slums and informal businesses in cities with earth-moving equipment in a program called Operation Murambatsvina, displacing 2.4 million people.  Now, rather than attempting to address underlying issues, officials are opting to move the capital entirely.

To critics, it's just the latest attempt by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa to revive a national economy that's all but collapsed. The 80-year-old has traversed the world since taking power in a coup in 2017 trying to woo investment. To date he's had little success.

The economy is fragile, with a chronic lack of foreign currency making it hard for major construction projects to move forward. Zimbabwe's currency has plunged, interest rates are the world's highest and annual inflation is 244%.

Still, Mnangagwa is undeterred.

The president laid the foundation stone for the project on July 20, saying it was a testament to his ability to attract funding.

There is a concerning lack of detail on terms for the investments in Mount Hampden, and no plans have been presented to Zimbabwe's parliament for approval, said Tendai Biti, a leading opposition member and former finance minister.

"They are busy mortgaging Zimbabwe," he said of the government.

The development has attracted the interest of China who have built the new parliament building in Mount Hampden at a cost of $140 million as a gift to Zimbabwe.

Local Government Deputy Minister Marian Chombo, whose department oversees municipalities, said in a response to written queries that the "cybercity" is attracting interest from commercial, retail and industrial investors without naming them. Ul Mulk said Zimbabwe's largest bank, CBZ Holdings Ltd has made $100 million in financing for the development available. CBZ declined to comment.

The development offers investors a five-year holiday from paying company tax, a lower income tax burden for workers and expedited immigration permits for foreign staff, according to the brochure that contains quotes from and photographs of Mnangagwa.

At least 12% of 250 luxury villas to be built in an initial stage have already been bought in advance, according to Ul Mulk. He provided no further details on the identity of the buyers but said the development is aimed at providing housing costing more than $500,000 a unit. Zimbabwe's annual per capita income is $1,737, according to the World Bank.

Much of the 13,000 hectares set aside for the development have been cleared with just one green-roofed house still standing.

But even with that ground now bare, there is still doubt the development will ever progress.

"It would be a bubble, an anomaly in a country where most face infrastructural degeneration," said Chan, the London professor. "It's unlikely, even in a country with the warped priorities of Zimbabwe, ever to be built."