Zimbabwe’s Inflation Exceeds 1,200%

The kleptocracy of Robert Mugabe continues to ruin Zimbabwe, one of Africa’s should-be wealthy nations. The latest figures for August show inflation at 1,204.6% (quite why the 6 tenths matters is unclear). Month-on-month, the increase was 211%. At these levels, prices mean nothing, currency has no value, and if goods are on the shelves, they cost 13 times more than a year ago. Even if wages kept up, only a few would benefit. Unemployment in Zimbabwe is running at a Phillips Curve-killing 70%.

The government, which President Mugabe has led since 1980, says it bears no responsibility. The official line is outside agitators and white colonialists are conspiring to destroy the country and topple the regime. However, the government’s “land reform” took farmland away from rich white farmers and, rather than giving it to poor, black farmers, gave it to well-off, politically connected city dwellers. The result was a collapse in agricultural production upon which the economy relied.

With 12 million people, the country can’t feed itself. The UN says that 4 million people are in need of food aid. A couple of million, at least, have packed up and moved to other countries; most of these are illegal immigrants who are abused or deported or both. The economic mess has even affected internet access. Since the government-owned TelOne failed to pay US$700,000 to Intelsat, the nation’s bandwidth has been reduced. TelOne has asked to government for permission to charge large firms in foreign currency to avoid this problem in the future.

Also, the price of bread rose 30% Friday, and the government cracked down on bakers it accused of overcharging. The cost of a loaf of bread is the most obvious nexus of politics and economics. When people don’t worry about what bread costs, a government is reasonably secure. When the population is concerned over the price of a slice, well, it ended in tears for Marie Antoinette.

Regular readers of this journal know that when Mr. Mugabe finally dies, the obituary here will be a happy one. Whether he is as bad a ruler as Idi Amin is hard to say, but he is certainly a bungling tyrant. The problem now is that Zimbabweans are struggling so hard to survive that they don’t have the energy to overthrow him. Perhaps when the Thai army returns to its barracks, it could do so by way of Harare.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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