Zimbabwe Country Report

Zimbabwe seemed to enter a new political age following the resignation of President Robert Mugabe in November 2017 after 37 years in power, but its political, economic and security outlook have not improved since. Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was subsequently appointed as the country’s new leader, has faced significant challenges in reversing years of financial mismanagement and rampant corruption, and has not been able to prevent hyperinflation and an economic crisis.

Since coming into power, Mnangagwa has strengthened his hold on the presidency and on ZANU-PF. He successfully sidelined his co-conspirator in Robert Mugabe’s removal and aspiring successor, Constantino Chiwenga, placing himself as the uncontested party leader. Mnangagwa narrowly won both the 2018 and 2023 general elections against his main opposition rival, Nelson Chamisa of the Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC). While the 2018 poll was heavily disputed and resulted in deadly violence, especially in Harare, the 2023 election went relatively peacefully despite the strong allegations of fraud from the opposition and criticism of international observers, Mnangagwa secured 52.6 percent of the vote to Chamisa’s 44, and won a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

While historically well-developed, Zimbabwe’s infrastructure has suffered from years of neglect and much is now in a state of disrepair. Rolling electricity shortages of up to 18 hours daily are common, with electricity and communications infrastructure being suffering from a severe lack of funding in part due to the country's economic crisis. Urban areas and major national roads are more developed than rural routes, but driving conditions are hazardous, particularly during the rainy season.

Both violent and non-violent crime is common in Zimbabwe and has been on the rise in recent years as the country faces a deteriorating economic situation characterized by a broad collapse of the formal economic sector. Thieves are known to operate across the country's urban centers, particularly in crowded areas. However, police resources and response capabilities are generally limited and officers have a low capacity to respond to specific criminal incidents.

Unrest also occurs with some frequency in Zimbabwe, particularly in Harare, Bulawayo and other major urban centers, over a range of political, economic and labor issues. Demonstrations, particularly those organized by the opposition, have often been aggressively dispersed by security forces with the use of batons, tear gas and live fire.

Zimbabwe has faced regular civil unrest in recent years as the country struggles to cope with a deteriorating economy, high unemployment, shortages of basic goods, and mounting opposition to the ruling ZANU-PF. Largescale political demonstrations occasionally occur in Harare and Bulawayo. Many of these demonstrations, particularly those organized by the CCC, have been met with an aggressive response from security forces and ZANU-PF members alike.

Levels of violent and non-violent criminal activity are high in Zimbabwe and have been increasing in recent years due to deteriorating economic conditions, with foreign travelers occasionally being targeted due to their perceived relative wealth. Levels of criminal activity are generally higher in the country's main urban centers, but carjackings and other incidents do occur with some frequency in rural areas.

The regulatory oversight of Zimbabwe's aviation industry is believed to be in line with international standards. However, domestic air travel tends to be subject to regular disruption, and Air Zimbabwe, the country's national carrier, has been banned from operating in the European Union due to concerns over the airline's adherence to international safety standards.

Overland travel also poses a number of risks linked to poor road conditions and erratic driving by some local road users.

Since its liberation, Zimbabwe's infrastructure has remained mostly unchanged and unmaintained due to the economic crisis and to widespread mismanagement. This affects electrical infrastructure in particular: supply is highly limited and irregular, with outages regularly exceeding 18 hours daily. This is both the result of a lack of infrastructure, poor quality and aging power plants, and a heavy reliance on hydropower from the Kariba dam which suffers from repeated droughts. This compromises the functioning of communication devices, the availability of public transport, road safety, and security protocols.

In addition, the government has also struggled to develop the country's telecommunications infrastructure in recent years, with little improvement in internet accessibility and speed and reliable mobile network coverage being limited to a handful of major urban centers.

Zimbabwe's climate varies across the country, with the center, east, and north generally being more humid than the semi-arid south and west. Temperatures vary depending on altitude and latitude. The country experiences a warm rainy season November-March and a cooler dry season April-October. Zimbabwe is also located in a seismically active region and experiences occasional earthquakes, particularly along its northern border with Zambia. However, earthquakes have typically been of moderate intensity and generally do not cause significant damage or casualties. The country is also prone to significant flooding during the rainy season. Conversely, periodic droughts have often had a significant impact on food security.

Zimbabwe is prone to outbreaks of several diseases, including malaria, chikungunya, measles, and cholera. Although adequate medical facilities can be found in major cities, personnel shortages, high costs, and an absence of specialists mean that medical evacuations are often required for many procedures. Pharmaceutical supplies are erratic, and the country is prone to shortages, with a crippling effect on public hospitals. Municipal water sources are often unreliable and prone to contamination; the consumption of bottled water is strongly advised.

Zimbabwe’s political landscape underwent a seismic shift in November 2017, with Robert Mugabe being forced to step down after 37 years as president after his attempts to position his wife Grace as his successor triggered a backlash from within ZANU-PF and the military. Mugabe’s ousting came amid mounting public anger over years of dire economic conditions and the restrictive political environment in the run-up to elections in 2018. The long-time president was replaced by his former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had originally been seen as his likely successor before falling out with the president over the position of Grace Mugabe.

Despite the change of leadership, little has changed in Zimbabwe’s governance. Widespread mismanagement, high levels of corruption, skyrocketing inflation, and the stern repression of political dissent akin to that seen under Mugabe continue to be practiced by Mnangagwa. Although the opposition, led by Nelson Chamisa and the CCC, have been perceived to grow especially in urban areas and in Zimbabwe’s expatriate population, they have not proven capable of challenging ZANU-PF in the polls. The President won reelection twice amid strong allegations of voter fraud. In 2018, the presidential election, which Mnangagwa won much more narrowly than the legislative polls, was tainted by allegations of electoral irregularities from Nelson Chamisa, who claimed to have won. Clashes erupted between opposition supporters and security forces, leading to at least six casualties. In 2023, Chamisa challenged Mnangagwa for the second time but lost by an even wider margin amid renewed suspicions of opposition censorship, though Zimbabwe did not experience deadly violence.

Following the independence of Zimbabwe in 1979, the ruling party implemented a vast land reform program aimed at redistributing white-owned farms to previously disenfranchised black populations. A new Constitution passed in 2000 gave the government the ability to expropriate land without compensation, which proved a gateway for violent and often deadly land seizures. And following further allegations of severe human rights abuses and rigged elections in 2002, the US and the EU placed targeted sanctions against Zimbabwean nationals and companies linked to the ruling party. These sanctions by-and-large prevent American and European companies from operating and trading with sanctioned individuals.

The country has been in a continuous economic crisis since independence due to poor financial policy, forcing the government to abandon the Zimbabwean Dollar in 2009. The government subsequently relied on a mixture of foreign currencies, including the US dollar, South African rand, and British pound, as well as domestically printed bond notes, officially pegged to the US dollar. In 2019, the government re-introduced a domestic currency through the new 'RTGS dollar' in 2019 with a market-set exchange rate. This did not resolve hyperinflation, with year-on-year estimates exceeding 240 percent in 2022 according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). In addition, US dollars and South African rand continued to be Zimbabwean’s currencies of choice especially on the black markets.

In an attempt to limit the amount of foreign currency, the RBZ began minting gold coins in July 2022 worth a reported USD 20 billion to provide a domestic alternative to the RTGS dollar. Then in May 2023, the RBZ then began selling digital gold tokens, to further incentivize domestic digital investment. However, both these policies constitute disguised expansionist fiscal policies and further money printing, which have not decreased the high risk of another hyperinflation crisis. In March 2023, the RBZ introduced a new inflation calculation method, blending the inflation rates of the US and Zimbabwean dollars into one statistic to hide its domestic currencies’ decreasing values. In general, the US dollar remains the most stable form of payment in the country.