Poverty in Zimbabwe
T.H.E. B.O.M.B.
Robert Mugabe was known throughout Africa as a hero, when he became Zimbabwe's Prime Minister after liberation from a white minority group in 1980. Now, however, he is known as an awful, corrupt dictator who doesn't care about anything but power.
Since he took the throne to Zimbabwe, Mugabe has slowly been pushing Zimbabwe into one of the world's worst economic states. Inflation has skyrocketed to approximately 1000%!,(MISSING) and it takes immense amounts of money for simple necessities. Banks are constantly backed up with endless lines and unavoidable shortages, and yet Mugabe isn't doing anything about it. He forbade any world reports and took over local and national news and newspaper stations, and seems to be in denial that he has let his country fall so low.
Because the government had also taken over the land that many local farmers used to own, the plots have gone fallow due to improper or neglect of care. As a result, remaining farmers are forced to make up for the shortages and give all of their crops to the government, which will be sold elsewhere. However, the food supply is quickly diminishing and many people are often left without food for days on end. This forces them to search in heaps of trash for anything edible, which is a serious health risk. In fact, the average life expectancy of a woman in Zimbabwe is only 34 years of age. One terrible aspect of Mugabe's rule is that he seems to use food as a political weapon; those who support him may recieve it, while those who do not and make it public will likely face imprisonment or worse.
Overall, the conditions in Zimbabwe are so bad that more than one third of the population (about two million) has fled to South Africa. Thousands of Zimbabweans swarm for applications for citizenship to other countries every day, and only a handful succeed. The rest are sent back to the trap they used to call home.
For these reasons, the main source of poverty in Zimbabwe is its bad government. Without a stable government whose purpose is to ensure the safety and health of its citizens, it is impossible to recover from poverty such as this. Unfortunately, this faulty government is what got Zimbabwe in this mess in the first place, as it was once the richest nation in Africa.
In the News
In an article found online in England's "The Guardian" newspaper, it discusses the recent ban on the possession of shortwave radios. The Zimbabwean police are trying to prevent civilians from listening to international broadcasts of exiled Zimbabweans urging them not to vote for Mugabe's party. "In recent weeks, police have been conducting a crackdown on NGOs and human rights groups, raiding offices, confiscating files and arresting employees."
This information shows that Mugabe is a heartless individual who will do anything for power by cutting off those who may pose as a threat to his position. The 89-year-old president is set on serving until he dies, and it is evident that he won't let anyone or anything get in his way, even if it means forcing his country deeper into poverty.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/feb/27/zimbabwe-police-ban-radios-elections
