Republic of Zimbabwe

Unity, Freedom, Work

Location
 Facts about the country
• Size: 390 580 sq km
• Population: around 12 million
• Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele,
numerous but minor tribal dialects
• Currency: Zimbabwean Dollar
• Religion: Christian 75%, indigenous beliefs 24%,
Muslim and other 1%
• Ethnic groups: African 98% (Shona 82%,
Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%,
white less than 1%
• Capital: Harare
 Pre-colonial History
• 5000 years ago: Stone
age hunters, later
displaced by Bantu
people
• 2000 years ago: Iron age
Bantu speaking people
begun migrating,
ancesters of the Shona
• By the Middle Ages, there
The Great Zimbabwe national monument
was a Bantu civilization in
the region, as evidenced
by ruins at Great
Zimbabwe
 Pre-colonial History
• Ca 1250-1629 : ruled under the Mutapa Empire
• The state traded gold, ivory, and copper for cloth
and glass with the Arabs
• Portuguese settlers destroyed the trade and the
empire nearly collapsed.
• 1834: Matabele(Ndebele) people arrived making
the area their new empire, Matabeleland
 Colonial History
• 1880s: The British entered Matabeleland under the
leadership of Cecil Rhodes
• Extracted mining rights from King Lobengula of the
Ndebele
• The British government granted a royal charter to his
British South Africa Company (BSAC) over Matabeleland
• 1895: the BSAC adopted the name Rhodesia for
Zambesia
• 1898: Southern Rhodesia was officially adopted for the
part south of the Zambezi, which later became
Zimbabwe
• Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British
colony in 1922
• November 11, 1965: independence from Britain:
Republic of Rhodesia in 1970
 Civil War
• Guerrilla fighting against Smith's government
• opened negotiations with the leaders of the Patriotic
Fronts — Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and
the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU
was led by Robert Mugabe and ZAPU was led by
Joshua Nkomo
• March 1978: Smith signed an accord: as a result of the
Internal Settlement, elections were held in April 1979.
• June 1, 1979 : leader of United African National Council,
Abel Muzorewa became the country's Prime Minister
and the country's name was changed to Zimbabwe
Rhodesia
• December 1, 1979 : signing of the Lancaster House
Agreement, ending the civil war
 Independence
• first elections March 27-29, 1980: Robert Mugabe's
ZANU party won
• April 18, 1980: Zimbabwe Rhodesia regained its
independence as Zimbabwe
• Constitution provided for a non-executive President as
Head of State with a Prime Minister as Head of
Government. Reverand Canaan Banana served as the
first President
• Amendement of the Constitution in 1987: Executive
President and abolished the office of Prime Minister.
• 1 January 1988: Robert Mugabe as President
 Situation since the Independence
• Law and Order Maintenance Act
• 1983 to 1984 the government declared a curfew:
widespread violence and disregard for human
rights by the security forces
• political tension rose in the country
• The pacification campaign,resulted in at least
20,000 civilian deaths
• The situation evolved into a low level civil war.
• 1985 elections: majority gave Mugabe the
opportunity to start making changes to the
constitution, including those with regard to land
restoration
• redistribute land to blacks in 2000
• legality and constitutionality of the process has
regularly been challenged in the Zimbabwean
High and Supreme Courts
• sharp decline in agricultural exports: severe hard
currency shortage, which has led to
hyperinflation and chronic shortages in imported
fuel and consumer goods.
• 2002: Zimbabwe was suspended from the
Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human
rights, abuses during the land redistribution and
of election tampering.
• Following elections in 2005, the government
initiated "Operation Murambatsvina," against
illegal markets and homes, it has left a
substantial section of urban poor homeless
• A political crisis began in Zimbabwe on 11
March 2007 when opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai was beaten and tortured after being
arrested, prompting widespread domestic and
international criticism
• next Presidential elections are due to be held in
2008, although Mugabe is currently trying to
amend the constitution in an attempt to stay in
power until 2010
 Politics
• Parlamentary democracy
• President is chief of state and head of
government, elected for a 6-year term
• Parliament consists of the House of Assembly
and the Senate (reinstated 2005)
• Main political parties: Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF); Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC); United People‘s
Party (UPP)
• President is Robert Gabriel Mugabe since
1987,(Prime Minister in 1980, revised the
constitution in 1987 to make himself President)
• vice presidents: Joseph Msik (1999–present)
and Joyce Mujuru(2004–present)
• President Mugabe's affiliated party has won
every election since independence April 18 1980
 Constitution
• Dezember 21, 1979 (initially from the Lancaster House
Agreement, chaired by Lord Carrington)
• it institutionalizes majority rule and protection of minority
rights
• Since independence, the Constitution has been
amended by the government, to provide for:
1. The abolition of seats reserved for whites in the
country's Parliament in 1987;
2. The abolition of the office of Prime Minister in 1987, and
the creation of an executive presidency; and
3. The abolition of the Senate in 1990, and the creation of
appointed seats in the House of Assembly. A Senate
was reintroduced in 2005
 Ecomomy
• collapsing under the weight of economic
mismanagement, resulting in 85%
unemployment and the highest rate of inflation in
the world
• Mineral exports, agriculture, and tourism
• GDP:USD $25.690 billion (2005)
• GDP growth: -5.7% (2007)
 Problems
• Zimbabwe at the present time is in a terrible state.
• The economy has shrunk by 50% from 2000 to 2007.
• There are frequent power and water outages.Harare's
drinking water became unreliable in 2006 and as a
consequence dysentery and cholera swept the city in
December 2006 and January 2007
• Unemployment in formal jobs 80%.
• Famine
• The country used to be one of Africa's richest and is now
one of its poorest
• HIV/AIDS pandemic (affects 25% of population):
government lacks resources or machinery
 Culture
• Sport: Football
• Traditional arts : pottery,
basketry, textiles, jewelry,
and carving.
• carved figures made with
sedimentary rocks such
as soapstone, as well as
harder igneous rocks
such as serpentine and
the rare stone verdite.
 Tourism
• Since 2000 tourism
has steadily declined
• several tourist
attractions: Victoria
Falls on the Zambezi
River
• 8 main National Parks
in Zimbabwe, largest
of which is Hwange
National Park
Victoria Falls
Hwange National Park