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(TALKZIMBABWE) Zimbabwe to become most successful country in Africa: report

Zimbabwe to become most successful country in Africa: report
By: BR-TZG
Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 4:53 pm

ZIMBABWE could stage an economic recovery within two years and a best case scenario could see it "back as one of the most successful countries in Africa" within 10 years. This is the view of Xan Smiley, the Africa editor of The Economist, speaking at a summit in Johannesburg yesterday on the future of Zimbabwe, hosted by the magazine.

Smiley said there had been considerable progress over the past 18 months especially in light of where the country had been in March 2008. Smiley said the "mood has changed" in the country.

[Really? How did 'the mood change'? Was the Zimbabwean economy talked down enough to get some very cheap deals? Are your bosses all bought up on Zimbabwean assets, and now it is time for them to appreciate again? How has 'the mood changed', and whose mood would that be? The mood in The City? They want to credit the success of the landreform program to the MDC, and pretend that there were no economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, even though they caused the economic collapse, are a matter of record, and are now being repealed through a bill called the Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2010. - MrK]

"In Harare there is a palpable sense of vibrancy (but) the mood is very mixed," he said.

He said levels of violence were "considerably down", compared with two years ago.

Among the improvements he identified, following the dollarisation and "randisation" of the economy, were that inflation had fallen to single digits.

He said: "People are being paid, there is a sense of certainty, goods are available, and there is decent food for those who can afford it."

And he said the agricultural sector was starting to recover.

Smiley said there had been a "widening of the political space" and spoke of the possibility that President Mugabe, who has promised elections next year, despite Tsvangirai's good showing in opinion polls, would seek an "exit strategy".

He said there would be a "fair election" in Zimbabwe and called for "creative diplomacy" on the part of South Africa and the UK to bring it about. He also suggested a lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe.

Labels: THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE, XAN SMILEY

posted by MrK @ 5:17 PM