A light at the end of a tunnel of poverty

The current situation in Zimbabwe can only be described as conflicted. President Robert Mugabe is the current leader of this crumbling nation, and has been in power since 1980.  His administration made a swift switch from supposed aims of peace, cooperation, and democracy to the authoritarian paranoia of late. Under Mugabe, there has been gross abuse of human rights and devastating economic decline. The level of inflation in Zimbabwe is to the point where something as simple as a loaf of bread will have increased so much in price from the time they picked it up off the shelf (if they were lucky enough to even find bread to purchase) to the time when they reached the register that they can no longer afford it.The hyperinflation has forced the vast majority of citizens below the poverty line. 80% of Zimbabweans make under 13 trillion Zim dollars a month, which might seem like an extremely high number until you realize that the current inflation level is approximated to be upwards of 231 billion percent, making this monthly equivalent a mere 41 American dol
lars.

On February 11, 2009, Zimbabwe began what one can only hope is an upwards path with the swearing in of new prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The terrible poverty of the people of Zimbabwe has led to high public appeal for the new prime minister, as his arrival in office seems to many to be an opportunity for economic and political reform. Upon his inauguration, Tsvangirai excited citizens by promising foreign currency pay for public servants such as doctors and teachers (although, potentially problematically, there was no mention of where this money would come from…).  Zimbabwe certainly has a long way to go in its recovery from incredible economic and political distress, and the former rivalry between now-coworkers Mugabe and Tsvangirai will undoubtedly cause some bumps along the way. Zimbabwe's situation really demands a revamped constitution, and the cooperation of these two officials is imperative to this or any other sort of successful reform.

Having experienced the terrible situation day to day for so long, Zimbabweans are desperate for any glimmer of hope or good news, and the ascension of Tsvangirai to his new office gave them just that, as he advocates cooperation despite political differences and promises a light at the end of their poverty-stricken tunnel.

Until the recent swearing-in of the new prime minister, Mugabe had successfully stifled his opposition. It will be very interesting to see how this “cooperation” between president and prime minister actually works, taking into account their individual political ideologies and especially their significant prior rivalry. For the good of the Zimbabwean people, one can only hope that Mugabe concedes to some of Tsvangirai’s ideas. Mugabe’s authority has been becoming more and more threatened as the economic circumstances continue to worsen and the citizens become more and more intolerant of the situation, so the incorporation of a second, and rather different, authority figure has so much promising potential for the rescuing of this poor devastated country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/643737.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Zimbabwe

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb059564-f831-11dd-aae8-000077b07658.html