Zimbabwe’s Economic Crisis And Food Insecurity Continue To Deepen

On 3 December 2019, it was announced that the World Food Programme (WFP) would send food aid to Zimbabwe to feed 4.1 million people, roughly a quarter of the population. Currently, about half of Zimbabweans experience hunger, and 7.7 million are in a state of severe hunger.

The country is plagued by a collapsing economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) advised that annual inflation was around 300 percent in August, positioning Zimbabwe as the nation with the highest inflation rate of the world. The severe economic conditions have led to multiple protests around the country. In addition to this financial crisis, the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been accused of violating human rights and electoral fraud, and faces sanctions by both the U.S. and the U.N. which has caused tension amongst citizens and led to more protests.

The root of the economic problem in Zimbabwe is the instability of the currency in the nation. Furthermore, in June, the country banned the use of foreign currencies in the country and reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar, which had been abandoned back in 2009 due to hyperinflation. The exchange rate was approximately Z$35 quadrillion to $1 back in June, and it is expected to be higher at present since the inflation has continued to increase. There is a shortage of physical cash and most of the transactions are made with cards. Indeed, there was an attempt to solve this problem through the creation of bond notes in 2016, a parallel currency in Zimbabwe that was supposed to officially pegged the U.S. dollar but it ended up being worth less. As a consequence, a black market developed, which made Zimbabwe become a cashless country based mainly on a card and mobile money transactions. The lack of cash is also a consequence of the country importing more than it exports.

Currently, workers who used to earn their salary in U.S. dollars now receive the same amount of money in Zimbabwean currency, meaning that they are earning less and less money due to the constant rise of inflation in the nation. Therefore, the income most Zimbabweans earn is not enough to satisfy their basic needs.

According to BBC News, “A family of five with children of school-going age will need Z$250 a week for transport. Extra weekly cash costs for bread, tomatoes, and sugar could tot up to about another Z$150. Yet banks have been rationing cash withdrawals to Z$300 a week – and ATMs have been empty.” Prices of goods continue to rise while salaries remain the same.

Most economists predicted that the new currency would not reduce inflation. As Victor Bhoroma, a Harare-based independent economist said in an interview with Al Jazeera, the reintroduction of a new currency in the country only contributed to the excessive printing of money by the central bank without any backup reserves, which renders the Zimbabwe currency less and less valuable. It is also contributing to the use of foreign currencies by the population.

A solution to this economic problem, said Bhoroma, is creating supply-side interventions that would boost production, to strengthen the institutions’ policies such as property rights, rules of law and policy consistency.

On the other hand, as the economy continues to struggle, tension is growing amongst citizens. Many protests have taken place since 4 November, when anti-government movements gathered in the capital due to the economic crisis. Rioters were struck by police with tear gas and water cannons while they listened to the speech of one of the opposition leaders, Nelson Chamisa. This situation repeated on 2 December, where the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accused the police of using live ammunition on the people gathering at Chamisa’s event. Nkululeko Sibanda told the BBC that the police fired at leaders of the opposition movement as they entered the tree planting event in Marondera.

People are discontented with the government of President Mnangagwa because, after two years of promises of economic prosperity and political freedom, nothing has changed and indeed the country’s economy continues to slump.

Only pro-government riots have been allowed in the country, and while the bans have not stopped opposition movements to demonstrate on the streets of Zimbabwe, they have suffered repression from the police. Indeed, the police denied they had outlawed the protests and said they agreed with anti-government leaders to move them somewhere else. However, to these allegations, opposition leaders showed the paper with the ban as well as multiple other papers they have received confirming the bans over the protests from the preceding months.

“The people-driven constitution is very clear about our right to demonstrate. It is a clear indication that the ruling party or the present government does not respect the constitution,” MDC supporter Justin Mwaramba reported to Al Jazeera.

In relation to the current food and economic emergency, the government is holding talks with the United Nations, which could lead to financial assistance to the country. When President Mnangagwa came to power, he promised that he would repair the diplomatic ties that were destroyed during former President Robert Mugabe’s presidency. However, the UN talks have been marred with intimidation inflicted on opposition leaders and human rights activists, which could place the possibility of financial aid in jeopardy.

It is important to note that the U.S. and EU have maintained the sanctions that they established during Mugabe’s presidency, due to a lack of appreciation for human rights and press freedom. The U.S. also reported that the current financial and travel bans apply to 85 individuals and 56 companies including President Mnangagwa. These sanctions do not affect Zimbabwean people: instead they are travel bans and freezes on accounts, especially in relation to military equipment purchases. President Mnangagwa said, “sanctions are slowing down our progress, inhibiting our economic recovery and punishing the most vulnerable.” However, after two years, significant controversy surrounds his government and their use of funds. This is reinforced by China rejecting the Zimbabwe government’s statement that it had only received $3.5 million in aid from Beijing in the past year. The Chinese government reported that it provided $136 million in financial help, revealing a large discrepancy.

During 18-28 November, Hilal Elver, a reporter on the right for food from the UN visited the country and announced the lack of food security in the country, which would probably worsen by the end of 2019. “I urgently call on the government and the international community to come together to put an end to this spiraling crisis before it morphs into full-blown social unrest,” said Elver. She fears that the economic crisis and desperation for access food will lead to even higher levels of insecurity in the country.

The overall crisis has lead to inhuman living conditions for thousands of Zimbabweans. The lack of food and potable water also accelerates the reproduction of diseases among the poorest communities.

As Elver stated, the most critical problem to tackle right now is the food insecurity that Zimbabwe is facing. This cannot be done without the help of international communities. Later, the government should implement better economic measures to relief high inflation. However, if the crisis continues along with corruption allegations towards the government and violation of human rights, I believe Zimbabweans need will need a change of government once more.

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