May be Gordon Brown isn't doing too badly..
#1
May be Gordon Brown isn't doing too badly..
BBC NEWS | Africa | Zimbabwe inflation 'incalculable'
How can an economy survive at those levels? Is the simple answer "that is can not"? In which case, what happens?
September's inflation rate was put at almost 8,000%, the world's highest.
Other reports suggest the rate could be at near 15,000% and the International Monetary Fund had warned it could reach 100,000% by the end of the year.
Other reports suggest the rate could be at near 15,000% and the International Monetary Fund had warned it could reach 100,000% by the end of the year.
How can an economy survive at those levels? Is the simple answer "that is can not"? In which case, what happens?
#4
In my opinion - the Commonwealth as a whole should have done something about this as soon as Mugabe started his little racist purges, but then of course we would be accused of colonialism.
Last edited by Prasius; 27 November 2007 at 10:06 PM.
#5
There's no oil there. I have a Zimbabwean friend living in New Zealand, her family are still in Zimbabwe, reasonably well off, but struggling. She is very distraught, but going on a "holiday" to catch up with family in a few days. I hope she'll be OK.
#6
This isn't about oil FFS.
What it needs is an African solution to an African problem. Instead, the regional leaders sit on their hands. Much easier to do nothing and to blame whitey.
Do the liberals admit that Ian Smith may have actually been right?
What it needs is an African solution to an African problem. Instead, the regional leaders sit on their hands. Much easier to do nothing and to blame whitey.
Do the liberals admit that Ian Smith may have actually been right?
#7
Seeing as I can only think of a couple of African countries... well.. Kenya anyhow.. and Djibouti isn't too bas as long as you squint a little.. with a working Government which isn't rife with corruption.. that might be difficult
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You can only withdraw 1000 dollars a day from the bank now. My girlfriends house is rented out at £1.50 a month - and the tennants ( who are proffessionals) are struggling to pay that ..!
Actually Botswana is doing reasonably and this is where relatives are buying from .
Could take another ten years to collapse competley which is why the girlfriend is taking permanant leave to remain .
Actually Botswana is doing reasonably and this is where relatives are buying from .
Could take another ten years to collapse competley which is why the girlfriend is taking permanant leave to remain .
Last edited by dpb; 27 November 2007 at 11:07 PM.
#10
I certainly wouldn't blame her for staying permanently.. and to be honest, as head of the commonwealth, I think we're partly responsible for letting the situation get so bad in the first place - it just isn't... moral.
#12
I was being ironic of course. There will be no African solution. Recolonisation or nothing in my view and they can take it or leave it!
#14
If oil was there, Mugabe would have been ousted PDQ, that's my point.
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Add in a lot of meddling from various hostile powers and virtually no help from the west and the biggest, baddest man becomes the leader of the armed resistance/rebellion. Given that background it's no real surprise he's a bit of a thug.
J.
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That's not true.
Equatorial Guinea has a lot of oil and is a tiny little country. Indeed EG have recently done a deal with Zimbabwe to supply oil.
EG also has one of the few leaders in Africa who is measurably significantly worse than Mugabe on human rights and corruption. He has been in power for some time and when some people tried to take his country (for his oil) they were banged up all over Africa. (Except for Mark Thatcher who was merely slapped on the wrist for claiming to not really know what was going on!)
So EG have terrible human rights, little defence, lots of money and oil, are not very popular with the neighbours and continue happily doing what they do. Maybe the Americans just haven't found out where they are on the map yet.
The other point I would make is that is very wrong to assume that 'Africa' is a single homogenous problem and can only benefit from a single homogenous solution.
Africa is massively varied with the Muslim countries in the North, developing economies in the West, primative communities in the Central and Eastern regions and the kaliedescope of the South.
Equatorial Guinea has a lot of oil and is a tiny little country. Indeed EG have recently done a deal with Zimbabwe to supply oil.
EG also has one of the few leaders in Africa who is measurably significantly worse than Mugabe on human rights and corruption. He has been in power for some time and when some people tried to take his country (for his oil) they were banged up all over Africa. (Except for Mark Thatcher who was merely slapped on the wrist for claiming to not really know what was going on!)
So EG have terrible human rights, little defence, lots of money and oil, are not very popular with the neighbours and continue happily doing what they do. Maybe the Americans just haven't found out where they are on the map yet.
The other point I would make is that is very wrong to assume that 'Africa' is a single homogenous problem and can only benefit from a single homogenous solution.
Africa is massively varied with the Muslim countries in the North, developing economies in the West, primative communities in the Central and Eastern regions and the kaliedescope of the South.
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The population as a whole under Ian Smith were massively better off. The country produced food for itself and others and the white farmers treated their workers reasonably in a sort of Wilbur Smith type way. Us smokers helped of course They even survived during fairly tough sanctions.
Trouble was Smith was stuck in a colonial time warp and simply couldn't accept that blacks could ever run the place. His words were "Never in a 1000 years". Not all his fault as the colonial era wasn't exactly renowned for its forward thinking educational policies.
The West take the view that you can't just walk into a country which is not a threat and take over. And one must sympathise with that view?
Even if we pursuaded RSA to send in a hit squad Mugabe has a very strong powerbase and you woud just end up with a Mugabe clone. Maybe it will end up all Chinese as they seem to be spending a lot of money and effort in the region.
I think Mugabe himself may well have mental problems (seriously).
Tragic, as it is such a beautiful country. dl
Trouble was Smith was stuck in a colonial time warp and simply couldn't accept that blacks could ever run the place. His words were "Never in a 1000 years". Not all his fault as the colonial era wasn't exactly renowned for its forward thinking educational policies.
The West take the view that you can't just walk into a country which is not a threat and take over. And one must sympathise with that view?
Even if we pursuaded RSA to send in a hit squad Mugabe has a very strong powerbase and you woud just end up with a Mugabe clone. Maybe it will end up all Chinese as they seem to be spending a lot of money and effort in the region.
I think Mugabe himself may well have mental problems (seriously).
Tragic, as it is such a beautiful country. dl
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It was as bent as buggery under Moy, his home township of Eldoret came out as being the second biggest city after Nairobi and thus justified having it's own International Airport, yeah right!
Mwai Kibaki may have claimed he was going to sort it, but speaking to my cousin who lives there, there has been little or no improvement, international aid still gets siphoned off before it gets to those that need it.
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i aint bothered what happens across the shores... i wake up on a morning, goto work, earn my money, go home, eat food with the family and go to bed. and then the free times i have in between, i spend with friends or my son... my life is sorted so i'm happy
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I spent the weekend with someone from Smith's Rhodesia who said he knew it was time to leave when it was frowned upon for 'hitting a kaffa openly in the street'.
Sounds like a 'great country' to me.
#25
As opposed to now, when its the very vast majority of the population are open to physical, mental and fiscal abuse and are subjugated by the very small minority.
Except now its black members of Zanu-PF.
Except now its black members of Zanu-PF.
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Yes but these boys are recruited on the basis that the alternative is not to eat - the vast majority would rather have mugabe still in preference to a smith like regime for the reasons outlinned above
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I doubted it too,but this is what my g.friend is saying and is one of the only reasons Mugabe is able to hang on in there along with the fact that elements with in the Mdc are taking funding from the far right whites ( believe it or not) Tsvangirai included.
Last edited by dpb; 28 November 2007 at 06:15 PM.
#30
It just bugs me a little that certain elements who are full of indignation when "white colonists" (who, lets remember, are just as Zimbabwean as black Zimbabweans - if their not, then it blows any concept of cultural diversity that these same people seem to love so much out of the water) abuse blacks - yet are happy to turn a blind eye when a number of blacks, not only do it to the whites, but to their ethnic "brothers" as well. The hypocracy of it really, really winds me up.
The MDC are going to struggle while they continue to fight amongst themselves.
The MDC are going to struggle while they continue to fight amongst themselves.