Zimbabwe



=**__Zimbabw __****__e __**=
 * Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in central- southern Africa. It is located between South Africa and Zambia, and it is slightly smaller than California.


 * Environmental problems include droughts and water and air pollution.


 * Where Zimbabwe is...



Information from: http://www.travelblog.org/World/zi-geog.html

= History = = =

Attempted Colonization
= =
 * In the 16th century, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to attempt colonization of south-central Africa, but the hinterland lay virtually untouched by Europeans until the arrival of explorers, missionaries, ivory hunters, and traders some 300 years later
 * In 1888, Cecil Rhodes obtained a concession for mineral rights from local chiefs
 * The British South Africa Company was chartered in 1889, and the settlement of Salisbury (now Harare, the capital) was established in 1890
 * In 1895, the territory was formally named Rhodesia after Cecil Rhodes under the British South Africa Company's administration
 * Following the abrogation of the company's charter in 1923, Southern Rhodesia's white settlements were given the choice of being incorporated into the Union of South Africa or becoming a separate entity within the British Empire.The settlers rejected incorporation, and Southern Rhodesia was formally annexed by the United Kingdom that year.
 * After 1923, European immigrants concentrated on developing Rhodesia's rich mineral resources and agricultural potential. The settlers' demand for more land led in 1934 to the passage of the first of a series of land apportionment acts that reserved certain areas for Europeans
 * The federation was dissolved at the end of 1963 after much crisis and turmoil, and Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland became the independent states of Zambia and Malawi in 1964

Becoming Corrupt

 * In April 1964, Prime Minister Winston Field, accused of not moving rapidly enough to obtain independence from the United Kingdom, was replaced by his deputy, Ian Smith
 * Although prepared to grant independence to Rhodesia, the United Kingdom insisted that the authorities at Salisbury first demonstrate their intention to move toward eventual majority rule. On November 11, 1965, Prime Minister Smith issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom
 * More recently, a political analyst from Zimbabwe says "Yes colonization was wrong; hence we fought against it and gained freedom through the liberation struggle. Now that we have acknowledged that corruption is rampant within the government, we have suddenly been overcome by the triumph of materialism"
 * She also adds, "We do not know what is wrong and what is right anymore, it has become more like the struggle for the wealthiest or survival of the fittest"
 * Lastly, she explains that they are living the good life while letting their citizens suffer. She says "These people have nothing to their name, not even food on their table, whilst the government has everything to their name even pearls and diamonds"
 * Zimbabwe’s economy was actually booming not too long ago. The country was primarily run by hereditary white farmers and business men who were doing a wonderful job of growing the products and exporting them for a great amount of money
 * Then, unfortunately, the Mugube, which is one of the most ruthless and hardened criminal organizations in the entire world, started killing off the farmers and trying to take over the business themselves. This was driven by their hatred of the white man and has lead them to the poverty stricken situation that we see today
 * Deaths contribute to the current state of Zimbabwe. These constant deaths are dragging the country down. One in four Zimbabweans is HIV-positive, there are 2000 AIDS-related deaths each week

=** Trade **=
 * The Solidarity Peace Trust said that Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems, trade and investment ties between South Africa and Zimbabwe remain very strong. Zimbabwe remains South Africa’s most important trading partner in Africa. And the strong economic ties between the two countries are poised to continue into the future.

Exports

 * The according to the Central Intelligence Agency...
 * ..commodities: platinum, cotton, tobacco, gold,, /clothing[[image:zimbabwe2/blood-diamonds.jpg align="right" caption="blood-diamonds.jpg"]]
 * ..partners: Democratic Republic of the Congo 14.8%, South Africa 13.4%, Botswana 13.2%, China 12.7%, Netherlands 5.9%, Italy 4.6% (2010)
 * .. the total exports is $2.317 billion (2010 est.)
 * ..comparison to the world it is 127 th.

Imports

 * The according to the Central Intelligence Agency...
 * ..the total imports is $3.673 billion (2010 est.
 * ..comparison to the world: 130 th
 * ..their partners are South Africa with 58% and China with 8.7% (2010).
 * .. the commodities are machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels, food products

Trade Problems

 * The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products, which comes from the CIA world fact book.
 * Zimbabwe’s mining minister vowed that the country “will no longer be begging for anything from anybody” after international diamond regulators agreed to let it trade some $2bn in diamonds from a field where human rights groups say miners have been tortured, which was featured in March of this year, 2011, in "BreakingNews.ie".

= **Quotes** =

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said,
==
 * "The new government needs to start to rebuild the country. If it does so, Britain and the rest of the international community will be quick to support them." on the BBC news world Quotes.

Peter Hain said,

 * "I strongly support European sanctions against Mugabe and his ruling clique. We must do all in our power to help the people of Zimbabwe achieve their freedom and prosperity once again." on the Quotes Archive website.

Simba Makoni said,

 * "We believe in a governance system that is caring and compassionate, not cruel to its own people; and provides equity and fairness for all Zimbabweans, regardless of region, ethnicity, religion, gender, race, class, disability and age." which was posted on the Mavambo Kusile Dawn website.

Robert Mugabe Quotes said,

 * "The white man is not indigenous to Africa. Africa is for Africans. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans." was said on the Brainy Quote website.

= **Economy** =

3 reasons for economic decline

 * United States Institute of Peace says in an article about Zimbabwe's economy that the three main factors for the economic decline is bad economic governance perpetrated by President Mugabe and his team. Excessive government spending and a series of wrong policy choices, such as price controls and fixed exchange rates, have crippled the productive sectors. Second is chronic fiscal indiscipline, rather than take steps to correct policy failures and institutional weaknesses, the Mugabe regime ran substantial ongoing budget deficits. They deficits were primarily financed by Zimbabwe’s central bank, which injected money at extraordinary rates. Third, the failure to uphold the rule of law created chaos and uncertainty, which eroded business confidence, led to the miss-allocation of resources and depressed economic output.

"Quiet Diplomacy"

 * The roots of the South African government’s policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ or constructive engagement towards Zimbabwe can be traced to 1999 when Thabo Mbeki became South Africa’s president. The key objective of this policy has been to use non-violent means to “encourage” the Mugabe regime to bring about democratic change in Zimbabwe according to the Solidarity Peace Trust.

Foreign Investments

 * Between 1998 and 2001, foreign direct investment in Zimbabwe dropped by 99%. The risk premium on investment jumped from 3,4% in 2000 to 153,2% by 2004, which also was found on the Solidarity Peace Trust website.

Economic Status

 * The CIA world fact online website said that Zimbabwe's economy is growing at a brisk pace despite continuing political uncertainty. Following a decade of contraction, Zimbabwe's economy recorded real growth of 5.9% in 2010.
 * The government of Zimbabwe still faces a number of difficult economic problems, including a large external debt burden and insufficient formal employment. The involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1998-2002) drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy, which is also found in the CIA website.

Economic Problems

 * United States Institute of Peace says by mid-July, estimates of annual price increases exceeded a mind-boggling 2,000,000 percent, while the domestic currency lost practically all its value every time it changed hands.
 * The CIA fact website says that from 1990 to 2003, the poverty in Zimbabwe has increased from 25 percent to 63 percent.
 * According to NewZimbabwe.com, an Amnesty International Statement from September 2006 said that 83 percent of Zimbabweans live on US $2 a day.
 * Unemployment in Zimbabwe is at 75 percent and over 70 percent live under the poverty line.
 * Zimbabwe is scored at 15th least developed country in the world by the Human Development Index.
 * [[image:zimbabwe2/zimbabwe-currency.jpeg align="right" caption="100 Billion ZWD's for three eggs demonstrates how the inflation is exploding."]]In August, it was found that a family of six in Zimbabwe needs 1,400,386 Zimbabwean dollars per month. Previously, the same family needed 1,200,000 dollars, which is approximately 214 US dollars.

Exchange Rate (Zimbabwean dollars (ZWD) per US dollar)

 * According to the CIA world fact website..


 * ..in 2010 234.25 ZWD = $1
 * ..in 2009 234 ZWD = $1
 * ..in 2007 30,000 ZWD = $1
 * ..in 2006 162 ZWD = $1
 * ..in 2005 78 ZWD = $1

**Migration Rate **
 * Miscellaneous **
 * The Central Intelligence Agency had these facts about the migration rate of Zimbabwe.
 * 24.83 migrants for every 1,000 people
 * Comparison to the world the are # **1. **
 * note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2011est.)

**International Disputes **
 * Botswana built electric fences, says the CIA world fact website and also that.. [[image:zimbabwe2/zimborder-_burned.jpg align="right" caption="May 20, 2008: Police rush to the aid of a man who was attacked and set alight in the Ramaphosa squatter camp"]]
 * ..South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the flow of thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution.

**Relationship-Britain **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">In a BBC news article it says that the government blames a long-running drought, and Mr Mugabe,.. the pro-independence campaigner who wrested control from a small white community and became the country's first black leader,.. has accused Britain and its allies of sabotaging the economy in revenge for the redistribution program.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Refugees ** **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Past Relationships **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">The CIA fact book said..
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Refugees (country of origin): 2,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
 * The international displaced people is 569,685 because MUGABE-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">The BBC news said that f or years it was a major tobacco producer and a potential bread basket for surrounding countries.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Health **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">The maternal mortality rate in 1990 was 285 deaths per 100,000 births. Today, it is 725 deaths per 100,000 births.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Mortality with children under five years of age has risen 22 percent since 1990.

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Safety and Rights **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">According to Botswana Centre for Human Rights...
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">A large number of abuses to Zimbabweans are because of the police. People have gone to the police station to report cases and have ended up assaulted or arrested.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 17) Bill, 2005, enacted in September 2005, is perhaps the greatest violation of the rule of law and fundamental rights that the citizens of Zimbabwe have faced to date. The amendment: removes the fundamental rights to property, restricts freedom of movement, removes the no-confidence vote, reorganises the Parliament of Zimbabwe, granting the President the right to appoint six Senators, and restricts Parliament’s ability to propose bills, effectively removing all financial responsibilities from the Parliament and placing them in the hands of the Executive Branch.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The government started Operation Murambatsvina.The Zimbabwean government has argued that Operation Murambatsvina is about restoring order, applying the law where trading and housing were illegal and creating health, economic and other problems. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) argued that the government's main reason for Murambatsvina was to punish the urban poor for voting for the opposition during the elections.