1. Why has Zimbabwe’s economic performance been so poor?

Zimbabwe's economic performance has been poor for various number of reasons. The most
important one is the factor of Corruption Watchdog Transparency International ranked
Zimbabwe as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. The first factor was when Prime
Minister Mugabe launched a “fast-track” land reform program that stimulated the confiscation by
the state without compensation of land owned by 4,000 white farmers of the country’s strong
agricultural sector. The confiscated land was given away to ZANU-PF party and other supporters
that lacked agricultural knowledge. The second factor was in 2008 Indigenization and Economic
Empowerment Act, which required that enterprises doing business in Zimbabwe take at least
51% local ownership. Resulting into foreign corporation businesses to drop out. The third factor
is that the country’s mining sector entitles all private licensing revenues owed vanished into the
pockets of army officers and ZANU-PF politicians. Therefore, taxes and tariffs are higher for
private enterprises. The last factor is the fluctuating rate of HIV infections.

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2. Do you think that Zimbabwe’s economic performance would have been better under a

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different system of government? Which one? Explain your reasoning.

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I think that if Zimbabwe was under the British democratic political institutions, there
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would have been more growth rather than decline in their economic performance. For
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example, in the introduction it states how Zimbabwe was described Zimbabwe as “the
jewel of Africa” by Julius Nyerere. It was given that description because the country
accomplished “a strong economy, abundant natural resources, and a vibrant agricultural
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sector.” However, once Robert Mugabe was elected with the help of the ZANU-PF party,
the country became heavily corrupted and declined economically.
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3. What steps need to be taken now to improve the economic outlook for Zimbabwe?

The country’s economic performance is a result of an erratic power supply, a lack of capital,
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higher input costs, antiquated machinery and deficiencies in infrastructure. This decline is the
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result of stalling investments and adverse climate conditions that hurt the agricultural sector. In
order to resolve and improve the economic balance one main step would be to stop any further
corruptions within the country. The second step is suggested by International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), asserts that the rehabilitation and maintenance of irrigation
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systems must be of the greatest importance to stabilize agricultural production. Improving

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irrigation systems would minimize crop failure, raise household incomes and increase food
security for rural smallholder farmers. Correspondingly, nearly 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s
workforce is employed in the agricultural sector.
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