Cholera in Zimbabwe
Earlier this week, Robert Mugabe, dictator of Zimbabwe, declared the cholera epidemic sweeping his country halted, although aid workers say that the situation has worsened. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the outbreak has not been contained and, as of mid-December, 2008, the death toll has increased to 978 people with 18,413 suspected cases. They go on to warn that the total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless the epidemic is stopped.
Cholera in Zimbabwe - August to November 2008
Using xenophobic misdirection tactics, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described the outbreak as a “genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British”. However, US ambassador James McGee blamed the outbreak on Zimbabwe’s political crisis and the failed economic policies of its government. He told reporters in Washington that hospitals in Harare remained closed, there was no rubbish collection and people were drinking from sewers.
There should be no doubt now that Mugabe must go. He is a danger to the people of Zimbabwe and, as the epidemic spreads, a danger to Southern Africa.
What One Hundred Billion Dollars Buys You
A Hundred Very, Very, Very Large Buys You Three Eggs
The answer is, in Zimbabwe, not very much. Back in July, the government of Zimbabwe issued one hundred billion dollar notes. With one, you can buy four oranges or three eggs as shown in the picture above. But they still cannot buy you a loaf of bread.
Once-prosperous Zimbabwe has seen an unprecedented economic meltdown since it gained independence in 1980. The official inflation rate is now at 2.2 million percent. And, the reason for this? I’m no economist, but I know enough to submit two words as evidence: bad leadership.
Robert Mugabe has a lot to answer for in Zimbabwe. His is a bitter betrayal. Once a hero, revered for his part in the country’s fight for independence from England (remember colonial Rhodesia?), he has led the country deeper into sectarian violence and economic collapse. Zimbabwe, once a net exporter of food and one of the strongest economies in Africa, now it cannot feed itself. A true recipe for disaster.