The Zimbabwe Review

The missing links in Zimbabwe’s drive for a successful China-like State capitalism

2012-02-14T20:53:00.000Z

by Chido Makunike Today’s China is perhaps the most successful example of ‘State capitalism.’ There are those who caution that the model is not all it seems, and that it is not sustainable. Even if that were the case, there is no doubt that China has become a dynamic global economic power under a type of controlled free market economy largely run by the State. Why has China’s model of State

No loans to actual farmers in Agribank’s ‘very good loan book’

2012-02-14T20:47:00.002Z

Agribank seems to have pulled off the neat trick of 'supporting agriculture,' but very carefully avoiding lendind to the people who actually work the land; farmers. Limited access to finance is one of the key issues to Zimbabwean agricultural recovery that is talked about endlessly. With the title-deeds based land tenure system of pre-2000 having been torn to shreds by the ‘fast track’ land

Talk of Chinese Yuan reserves causes hysteria in Zimbabwe, but is no big deal in Nigeria

2012-02-14T20:39:00.004Z

The Chinese are causing consternation all over with their explosive economic growth and rising global influence. In many countries there is heated debate on the pros and cons of unavoidable relations with China. The peculiarities of recent Zimbabwean political and economic history mean that there is an almost emotional hysteria to discussion about various aspects of the country’s strong and

Bornwell Chakaodza, rest in peace

2012-02-14T20:36:00.002Z

The Zimbabwe Review would like to join in the many accolades to the late Bornwell Chakaodza, well-known Zimbabwean journalist, who died of stomach cancer at age 60 on January 24, 2012.Among the best and most touching tributes to him have been those by his contemporaries and former work colleagues, journalists Desmond Kumbuka and David Maruziva. One couldn’t help but smile at Maruziva’s

The messy nexus of land, property rights and race in Southern Africa

2012-01-31T15:49:00.001Z

by Chido Makunike Eddie Cross is an MDC MP with strong, frequently publicly articulated views on many issues, including the hot one of land. He has sometimes been referred to as the MDC’s ‘policy advisor,’ so his views on this subject are interesting as a window into the ‘advice’ he gives to his party on this deeply contentious issue. He argues that traditional, communal ownership of land;

In parts of Harare, as elsewhere, a deep fear of the rising Chinese

2012-01-31T15:49:00.000Z

The intricacies of currency are of little interest to most people. Hyperinflation changed much of this for Zimbabweans. Fear of the very idea of a local currency runs deep, and for now, many people are comforted by the country’s use of various foreign currencies, including the US dollar and South African Rand. With the growing economic role of China in Zimbabwe and the world in general, a

The significance of Zambian president Michael Sata’s ‘Western stooge’ outburst on Morgan Tsvangirai

2012-01-31T15:48:00.001Z

Newly elected Zambian president Michael Sata has astonishingly called Zimbabwean prime minister and aspiring president Morgan Tsvangirai a ‘Western stooge.’ Even for a man known to be outspoken and cutting in his comments, it was certainly undiplomatic and arguably ill-advised for Sata to say this about the at least nominal head of government of a neighboring country. But beyond the

A characterization of Uganda that sounds a lot like Zimbabwe

2012-01-31T15:48:00.000Z

An article in a Ugandan publication serves as a useful reminder that none of the problems that Zimbabweans are grappling with are unique to their country. The exact nature and extent of the problems may differ, but there is a surprising same-ness to the issues, their causes and the sense of leaders whose concerns are very distant from those of ordinary citizens. The November 2011 article has

Is IMF/World Bank work experience good recommendation for leadership in Africa?

2012-01-20T21:36:00.001Z

One of the most socially prestigious kinds of work experiences a person can have on his or her CV in Africa is a senior position at the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or similar institution. Almost no one knows what being ‘director’ or ‘senior vice president’ at these organizations involves, but the social cachet that goes with it for an African is tremendous.

Church man Makandiwa’s fascinating Mercedes Benz wedding gift: a critique

2012-01-20T21:36:00.000Z

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The Zimbabwe Independent in delimma over Mugabe successor

2012-01-20T21:28:00.001Z

The Zimbabwe Independent is an important newspaper. It mostly provides a good, deep weekly read. A streak of irreverence in some of its regular columns means it is one of the few papers to occasionally knock haughty politicians off their high horses. But on the twin issues of ZANU-PF ‘factions’ and the Mugabe ‘succession issue,’ the ZimInd has a puzzling penchant for featuring shallow,

Guy Scott as Zambia’s first white vice president says nothing about events in Zimbabwe or elsewhere

2012-01-20T21:24:00.001Z

Agriculture minister's deeply flawed arguments against GMOs

2012-01-18T10:01:00.000Z

Using Nigeria’s oil curse lessons to avoid a diamond curse in Zimbabwe

2012-01-15T15:44:00.003Z

Nigeria is in turmoil as the country’s citizens react in outrage at the government’s lifting of an oil subsidy that kept petroleum products priced low. Almost all articles about the crisis mention how many Nigerians consider that the subsidy is one of the few ways they benefit from their country’s vast oil wealth. Are there lessons from this for Zimbabwe as it quickly becomes a global diamond

A critique of Rob Sobhani’s article, ‘Obama’s Zimbabwe moment’

2012-01-15T15:42:00.001Z

Another Western observer of ‘the Zimbabwe crisis’ has the solution neatly figured out. Actually, for Rob Sobhani, it is merely a ‘Mugabe crisis’ and resolving it is easy. All that needs to be done is to convince Nobel Peace Prize winner, US president and famed global problem solver, one Barack Obama, to step in and wave his magic wand-problem solved. Sobhani’s astonishing, entertaining article is

Mugabe clings on to power, but his stature among his peers is unquestionably diminished

2012-01-15T15:40:00.003Z

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur and his knights of the political circus

2012-01-01T20:58:00.000Z

Zimbabweans’ peculiar but understandable aversion to the re-introduction of a local currency

2011-12-30T21:40:00.002Z

A post-mortem of the pullout of Global Witness from the Kimberley Process

2011-12-30T21:14:00.002Z

The NGO Global Witness has pulled out from its association with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for the global diamonds industry. It says it has lost confidence in the KP’s ability and willingness to stop abuses of various kinds in various diamond mining countries. Quitting the KP might be a matter of frustrated principle for Global Witness, but that arguably gives it less influence

ZANU-PF’ ‘empowerment, MDC’s ‘more investment’ need not be seen as contradictory

2011-12-28T16:28:00.000Z

ZANU-PF and the MDC will start 2012 with a heightened awareness that a crucial election for them and for the country is not far away, whatever the final dates will be. As the parties sell themselves to the voters, it has become clear that their visions of how to bring about an economically prosperous Zimbabwe are starkly different. But are ‘empowerment’ and ‘attracting investment’ best thought

An alternative interpretation of Harare Christmas police traffic crackdown

2011-12-27T17:14:00.000Z

Why the Mugabe government would never accept HIPC to offset Zimbabwe’s debts

2011-12-16T10:19:00.001Z

Zimbabwe has an external debt said to be worth US$ 7billion. Most of it has not been serviced for several years. As the value of the debt continues to creep up from accruing interest, there is little prospect of the debt being paid from the proceeds of slowly recovering economic activity. The MDC minister of finance is inclined to accept Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) status as part of

Zimbabwe, world: start preparing for a Chinese yuan in your future

2011-12-15T12:40:00.003Z

With China’s dramatic economic rise and spreading global influence, there are increasing discussions about how its currency, the yuan. will influence world financial markets and trade. In Zimbabwe, where the local currency was abandoned to kill hyperinflation and replaced with a multi-currency regime, proposals by some to add the yuan have been met with surprising heat and emotion. Among

The economic implications of Zimbabwe's growing taste for rice

2011-12-14T11:08:00.001Z

A leading Zimbabwean food company has just opened a new rice processing plant. It says there is a growing local demand for rice, which is becoming more of an everyday food starch than before, when it was usually eaten on special days or occasions. A seemingly innocuous dietary trend could quite unintentionally have big long term implications on the country’s food security, by contributing to

Community share schemes: more questions than just about political gimmickry

2011-12-14T11:05:00.000Z

As part of its campaign strategy for a crucial upcoming election in which it must seriously consider the prospect of being beaten by the MDC, ZANU-PF has embarked on a shakedown of mining and other big companies. The shares they are being persuaded or arm twisted into ceding to local communities have been described by some as an ‘election gimmick.’ They probably are at least in part, but there