More Bad News for Zimbabweans

Summary :: Zimbabwe is experiencing the worst economic crisis in the world, but at least they've been named head of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development.

With just two weeks left in the planting season, the Agriculture Ministry of Zimbabwe's government has admitted that less than 1/10th of the wheat crop targeted for the year has been planted. The ministry has warned that shortages of bread and flour would worsen as a result. Apparently, corn is far more important a food source for Zimbabweans than wheat and as such, mass starvation appears unlikely - for now.

The government is claiming that acute shortages of cash, fertilizer, tractors and gasoline are to blame for the planting shortfall. 240 of the less than 1,000 tractors used in the country are broken down and farmers have received less than half the gasoline required for the working equipment.

For many who've been paying attention, this is not unforeseen. Official figures show that inflation is at a staggering 2,200%. This figure does not include data from the thriving black market where rare commodities such as sugar fetch up to 10 times the government-fixed price. Some estimates put the figure upwards of 5,000%.

The central bank estimates that 3.4M (of 12.3M, according to the CIA World Factbook) Zimbabweans have fled the economic crisis; most who find work end up in menial jobs as housecleaners or day laborers despite higher abilities. Earlier this month, the Zimbabwe Health Services Board declared that 42% and 35% of locally trained doctors and nurses, respectively, had left the country seeking higher pay and better working conditions.

What makes this all the more tragic is the lack of effective condemnation of the government's economic management. Just last week and by a vote of 26-21, Zimbabwe was made head of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development. The U.S. and various European nations as well as numerous NGOs have condemned the result.

Considering that Zimbabwe is very much in the throes of the worst economic crisis in the world, one can only stand in awe of what this means. I couldn't have imagined anything occurring that I would find more inappropriate than the nomination of John Bolton for the U.S.'s ambassadorship to the U.N., and yet it has happened.

Quite simply, putting anyone from the Zimbabwean government at the head of the Commission on Sustainable Development is much like making George W. Bush chair of literature and culture at Harvard.