A troubled 2004 - Yearender

Zimbabwe's ongoing political impasse continued to impact negatively on the country's already weak economy throughout 2004. Reports of a worsening humanitarian situation, triggered by food shortages, dominated news headlines, with the World Food Programme providing aid to 4.4 million beneficiaries in March. The UN food agency has forecast that an estimated 5 million Zimbabweans may not meet their basic food needs in the lean season before the April/May 2005 harvest. The UN Children's Fund in June reported that malnutrition levels in urban centres had doubled over the past four years and significantly worsened in Bulawayo, the second city. Deepening poverty and rising prices denied poor households access to basic commodities which were disappearing of shop shelves, only to resurface in the more expensive parallel market. HEALTH CONCERNS The country's economic crisis, now entering its fifth year, also put increasing pressure on already fragile public health and social welfare services: equipment breakdowns and staff shortages due to widespread dissatisfaction over salaries and working conditions continued to plague delivery. Hyperinflation forced private medical practioners to hike consultation fees to cope with rising costs, while the lack of funds for adequate sanitation led to outbreaks of cholera and malaria, further stretching the resources of the health sector. In December the government introduced a bill aimed at stemming the tide of medical professionals leaving the country. The bill will allow for public sector health workers' salaries to be set separately from those of other civil servants. AGRICULTURAL PROBLEMS PERSIST Problems that had bedevilled the agricultural sector in 2003 continued into 2004 as newly resettled farmers complained of the lack of government support. Contrary to the official position that land acquisition had officially ended in 2002, the mid-year period saw the acquisition of more properties. Notable among these was the highly productive Kondozi Farm, where an estimated 5,000 farm workers lost their jobs, and many of them their homes. Agricultural production continued to decline and Zimbabwe lost its position among the top six tobacco producers in Africa. Efforts to restock the heavily depleted national herd faced major challenges as outbreaks of foot-and-mouth, anthrax and tick-borne diseases continued throughout the country. By the close of the year anthrax and the spread of the army worm continued to pose serious threats to animal and crop farming in many parts of the country. INFLATION STEMMED After hitting a record high of around 620 percent in January, the official inflation rate dropped to 150 percent by the end of 2004 but still left Zimbabwe with the highest inflation rate in the world. The Reserve Bank attributes the current drop to tighter fiscal policies aimed at reining in rampant profiteering and a lucrative black market in scarce commodities and hard currency. The Reserve Bank's efforts to control inflation and fight corruption in the banking and financial sector saw eight banks placed under curatorship by the end of the year. Many businessmen were arrested while others fled the country. Finance minister Chris Kuruneri, businessmen James Makamba and Mutumwa Mawere were among the ZANU-PF leaders arrested on various charges of corruption and externalising foreign currency. POLITICAL IMPASSE CONTINUES At the African Union (AU) summit in July in Ethiopia, President Robert Mugabe thanked the AU for helping to "recover more than 11-million hectares of stolen land without paying one cent", and was rewarded with a round of applause. Despite targeted sanctions by western countries against ZANU-PF's top brass, Mugabe has enjoyed the respect of many of his African peers. The year began badly for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, faced treason charges and a possible death penalty if convicted. The MDC's decision to suspend participation in national elections on grounds that they were not fair contests allowed ZANU-PF to gain three more parliamentary seats unopposed. A change in the party's fortunes came about later in the year from an unexpected source - the judiciary. In October Tsvangirai was acquitted of the charges. Tsvangirai embarked on a whirlwind world tour soon after his release which succeeded in regional leaders apparently taking heed of his calls for political reforms in Zimbabwe. A Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in August in Mauritius called on the Zimbabwean government to implement SADC electoral guidelines. Although complaining that the guidelines were not enough to level the electoral field, the MDC has claimed victory over their partial adoption by the government. It has yet to decide on whether to participate in the March parliamentary elections, but the MDC finished the year better off than it started. The government, meanwhile, continued to push ahead with a controversial bill, now awaiting Mugabe's signature to become law, that will ban civic organisations from carrying out human rights and voter education campaigns, and also bans foreign funding on the grounds that NGOs could be used as fronts by anti-ZANU-PF forces. Despite calls for amendment, the strict Public Order and Security Act remained in force and no attempt was made to amend the Broadcasting Act, which gives the government total control of radio and television broadcasts. Despite being a signatory to the SADC electoral guidelines, which call for media access by all parties, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings has refused to carry MDC adverts on its radio and television channels. There were increasing reports of factionalism within the ruling party at the end of 2004 in the run-up to ZANU-PF's congress in December, at which a new vice-president was chosen after the death of veteran leader Simon Muzenda. Joyce Mujuru's path to the vice presidency was cleared by a ZANU-PF congress resolution, which stated that one of the party's two deputy presidents had to be a woman. Her nomination was deemed significant given Mugabe's promise to resign in 2008. Six of the party's top officials, who had met ahead of the congress allegedly for the purpose of thwarting Mujuru's election, lost their positions in the party's decision-making organs in the crackdown that followed. Among them was controversial information minister, Jonathan Moyo, who held the meeting at his Tsholotsho home. Moyo was the author of the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), and the Broadcasting Services Act. AIPPA resulted in the closure of the popular newspaper, The Daily News, and its sister publication, The Daily News on Sunday, at the beginning of 2004. Moyo's misfortunes coincide with those of colourful business man and high-profile ZANU-PF member, Philip Chiyangwa, who was also opposed to Mugabe's choice of vice-president. Chiyangwa and four senior ruling party officials, including Zimbabwe's ambassador to Mozambique, were placed in solitary confinement in December on charges of spying for "foreign powers".