Zimbabwe

For other meanings see Zimbabwe (disambiguation).

Zimbabwe (IPA: ), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, and formerly known as the Republic of Rhodesia, is a landlocked country in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It borders South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north-west, and Mozambique to the east. The name Zimbabwe derives from "dzimba dzemabwe" meaning "houses of stone " in the Shona language. http://www.history.und.ac.za/ebe1mhm/zimbabwe.htm Zimbabwe at History Department of UKZN] www.history.und.ac.za (accessed 03 April 2006) Its use as the country's name is a tribute to Great Zimbabwe, site of the capital of the Munhumutapa Empire.

History

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800's under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under their chief Mzilikazi. Resentment has simmered ever since between this group of peoples and the Shona-speaking tribes in Mashonaland, the northern part of Zimbabwe.

Colonial era

In 1888, Cecil Rhodes signed a treaty with King Lobengula of the Ndebele, who succeeded Mzilikazi. It allowed extensive British intervention in the area, and its purpose was primarily to allow mineral extraction. In 1889, Rhodes obtained a charter for the British South Africa Company (BSAC), with the object of occupying and administering what subsequently became known as Rhodesia, and mining gold and other minerals. In 1895 a column of 200 armed white men recruited by the BSAC in South Africa, occupied Mashonaland and promoted the colonization of the region and its land, labour, and mineral resources.

In 1896-1897 the Ndebele and the Shona staged unsuccessful revolts against white colonialists' encroachment on their native lands. This was later known as the first Chimurenga (War of Liberation). Nehanda Nyakasikana, Chaminuka, Muponda, and other Shona spirit mediums and rulers were leaders in this rebellion, and were later captured and executed. The Shonas and the Ndebeles with their spears and knobkerries were no match for the heavily armed British South Africa Police (as the police force of Rhodesia was called), who had horses, guns and cannons.
Southern Rhodesia was administered by Rhodes' BSAC until 1922. In a referendum that year, the settler population rejected a proposal for incorporation into the Union of South Africa, and instead became a British self-governing colony.

In 1953, Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia (now called Zambia) combined with Nyasaland (now called Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also called the Central African Federation.

After the federation dissolved in 1963, the white minority administration in Southern Rhodesia (called simply Rhodesia from 1964) demanded independence, but the British government had adopted a policy of No Independence Before Majority African Rule (NIBMAR).
In response, the government of Prime Minister Ian Smith made a unilateral declaration of independence on November 11, 1965.1965: Rhodesia breaks from UK BBC On This Day (accessed 03 April 2006) The United Kingdom called the declaration a direct act of rebellion, and the Commonwealth imposed economic sanctions. In 1968 the UN voted to make the sanctions mandatory but they were largely ineffective. In an attempt to distance the country from the UK, Smith declared Rhodesia a republic in 1970, but this did not result in international recognition. Smith continued to administer a largely segregated social system that has been compared to apartheid.

Self-declared independence

Opposition to white rule strengthened and began with a skirmish at Chinhoyi (then Sinoia) where six fighters of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) fought government forces. There was also resistance from the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). Both ZANLA and ZIPRA used guerrilla tactics similar to those of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.

Around the world, the movement for equal rights for Africans in Africa and in the diaspora intensified in the second half of the 20th century. With the end of Portuguese rule in neighbouring Mozambique in 1975, the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo) led by Samora Machel lent assistance to ZANLA, and the resistance intensified into a large-scale uprising called the Second Chimurenga.

The Rhodesian Security Forces had operational successes against the guerrillas, who had diplomatic support from the Soviet Union and China. Even under the strain of economic and military sanctions, Rhodesian forces mounted highly effective external raids on guerrilla forward bases in Zambia and Mozambique, while evolving "fireforce" battle tactics.

But by 1978, Smith and his cabinet had realized that the situation was no longer tenable, and sought a compromise with moderate black leaders, like Bishop Abel Muzorewa of the United African National Council (UANC) and Ndabaningi Sithole of Zanu (Ndonga).

Under what became known as the Internal Settlement, the country became known as Zimbabwe Rhodesia, with blacks holding a majority of seats in Parliament for the first time, although whites would continue to dominate the civil service, judiciary and armed forces.

Muzorewa was elected Prime Minister, with the support of Smith and the South African government, but lacked credibility among significant sectors of the African population, ZANU and ZAPU remained banned, and the guerilla war continued. In 1979, the British Government asked all parties to come to Lancaster House, London to negotiate a settlement to the civil war.

International recognition of independence and the rise of ZANU

Following the conference held in 1979-1980, Britain's Lord Soames was appointed governor to oversee the disarming of revolutionary guerrillas, the holding of elections, and the granting of independence to an uneasy coalition government with Joshua Nkomo, head of Zimbabwe African People's Union. In the free elections of February 1980, Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) won a landslide victory, and Mugabe has won every election since, although most elections have not been considered "free and fair" according to international standards, with intimidation of voters and harassment of opposition members alleged.

ZANU-ZAPU fighting

In 1982 Nkomo was ousted from his cabinet; when a cache of weapons of war was discovered at properties owned by him and his top lieutenants, sparking fighting between ZAPU supporters in the southern Ndebele-speaking region of the country and the ruling ZANU. There were widespread attacks on white farmers and Shonas in small parts of Masvingo, Midlands, and Matebeleland provinces. The most famous were by Gwesela who led his followers in attacks against Shonas.

The government mobilized the Fifth Brigade (also called the Gukurahundi) led by Colonel Perence Shiri to quell the insurgency. In February 1983 they went to Tsholotsho, Matebeleland North; in 1984, they moved across the Manzamnyama River into Matebeleland South. In the turn of events, multiple atrocities were committed against the Ndebele.

Ultimately, Mugabe and Nkomo held peace talks that saw a return to calm and the reunification of the Patriotic Front. Clemency was given to those who had committed atrocities on both sides. The peace accord in 1987, resulted in PF ZAPU's merger (1988) with ZANU Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

Land reform

The drought in southern Africa, perhaps the worst in a century, affected Zimbabwe so severely that a national disaster was declared in 1992. The drought compounded the country's debt crisis. The ensuing IMF-backed economic adjustment and austerity program caused further widespread hardship. Continued intimidation of the Ndebele minority in the south has caused nearly a million of them to flee to South Africa.
With the implementation of majority rule, whites remained dominant in the nation's economy. They made up less than 1% of the population but eventually held 70% of the country's commercially viable arable land, of which 82% of the white farmers had purchased since after the independence of the nation. However, only a small parcel had been purchased and reallocated to blacks since 1980, in spite of millions of pounds of aid from Britain given for this purpose. Most purchased farms ended up as the property of high-ranking military and political personnel. However whites held no political power. Land redistribution from whites reemerged as a political issue beginning in 1999.
The forced removal of the white farmers caused sharp rises in prices of agricultural commodities such as corn and sugar, and the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy. Zimbabwe was formerly an important net food exporter to the region, but in recent years starvation has been widespread because of Mugabe's land reform policy, which redistributed land to political supporters of Mugabe who do not farm the land efficiently. This has left the large majority of landless blacks worse off, due to a catastrophic fall in productivity, a spectacular rise in inflation (1000% in May 2006) and widespread unemployment.Country profile: Zimbabwe BBC Online (accessed 03 April 2006)
In the aftermath of Mugabe's handling of the land crisis, which redistributed land to selected blacks by forcefully removing owners without compensation, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses and of election tampering in 2002, including widespread intimidation and violence against supporters of opposition parties. Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth on 7 December 2003.

Demolitions

After elections in 2005, the government began Operation Murambatsvina, meaning "Drive out the Trash", in a supposed effort to crackdown on illegal markets and homes, that had seen both slums unfit for human habitation, and well-built brick and mortar homes, emerge in towns and cities.

This action has been widely condemned by opposition and international figures, who charge that it has left a large section of the urban poor homeless. The UN estimates that 700,000 people have had their homes demolished by Mugabe's program.

Mugabe's Government has initiated the housing construction programme Operation Garikai, but this is not available to a large number of the poorest citizens, and will do little to solve the problem, according to a UN report UN Zimbabwe aid efforts 'flawed' BBC Online (accessed 03 April 2006).

Politics

Zimbabwe is a republic, with an executive president and a bicameral Parliament. Under constitutional changes in 2005, an upper chamber — the Senate — was reinstated. The House of Assembly is the lower chamber of Parliament.
Zanu PF Robert Mugabe, elected Prime Minister in 1980, revised the constitution in 1987 to make himself President. President Mugabe's affiliated party has won every election since independence April 18 1980. In some quarters corruption and rigging elections have been alleged. In particular the elections of 1990 were nationally and internationally condemned as being rigged, with the second-placed party, Edgar Tekere's Zimbabwe Unity Movement, winning only 20% of the vote. Presidential elections were last held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation, and fraud. The next Presidential elections are to be held in 2008.
The major opposition party at the moment is the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai. At the present time, November 2005, the MDC is currently split into two factions. One faction, led by Welshman Ncube is contesting the elections to the Senate, while the other led by Morgan Tsvangirai is opposed to contesting the elections, stating that participation in a rigged election is tantamount to endorsing Mugabe's claim that elections in Zimbabwe are completely free and fair. The two MDC camps had their congresses earlier this year with Morgan Tsvangirai being elected to lead the main splinter group which has become more popular than the other group. Professor Arthur G.O Mutambara a Robotics Professor and former NASA robotics specialist has been appointed to replace Welshman Ncube who was the interim leader after the split. The Mutambara faction has however been weakened by defections from MPs and individuals who are dissillusioned by their manifesto. To date the Tsvangirai led MDC has become the most popular with crowds as large as 20,000 attending their rallies as compared to between 500-5,000 for the other splinter group.
The 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections were held on March 31. While the African Union reported no major irregularities, opposition figures such as Archbishop Pius Ncube have made charges of vote rigging. Robert Mugabe is poised to rig a general election once again (Mar 23rd 2005) www.economist.com (accessed 03 April 2006)

Education

Zimbabwe had a literacy rate of 90.2% in 2000, the highest in Africa. Zimbabweans generally value and pursue academic achievement, for example, Robert Mugabe, the president, has four non-honorary degrees and the cabinet has several graduates at PhD level or higher. For males, the country's adult literacy rate (the percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write) is 93%. Comparison with other SADC countries in 2004 is as follows: South Africa, 86%, Zambia, 79.9%, Swaziland, 80.9%, Namibia, 83.3%, Lesotho, 81.4%, Botswana, 78.9%, Tanzania, 77.1%, Malawi, 61.8%, Mozambique, 46.5%. UNICEF Statistics www.unicef.org (accessed 03 April 2006) BOTSWANA LITERACY SURVEY: 2003 www.cso.gov.bw (accessed 03 April 2006) Zimbabwe Country Assistance Evaluation (Document of the World Bank) PDF, (accessed 03 April 2006)

Universities in Zimbabwe:
* University of Zimbabwe - the first, largest and most complete
* NUST (Zimbabwe) - the second state university, National University of Science and Technology
* Africa University, in Mutare
* Midlands State University
* Bindura University of Science Education
* Chinhoyi University of Technology
* Masvingo State University
* Catholic University in Zimbabwe
* Zimbabwe Open University
* Women's University in Africa
* Solusi University
* Lupane State University
* University Without Walls
* Africa University

Administrative divisions

Administrative divisions of Zimbabwe.

Main article: Provinces of Zimbabwe, Districts of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is divided into 8 provinces and 2 cities with provincial status. The provinces are subdivided into 59 districts and 1,200 municipalities.

The provinces include:
*Bulawayo (city)
*Harare (city)
*Manicaland
*Mashonaland Central
*Mashonaland East
*Mashonaland West
*Masvingo
*Matabeleland North
*Matabeleland South
*MidlandsDistricts: see Districts of Zimbabwe

Municipalities: see Municipalities of Zimbabwe

Geography

Main article: Geography of Zimbabwe

Bridal Veil Falls, Eastern Highlands

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, surrounded by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east and northeast. The northwestern border is defined by the Zambezi River. Victoria Falls is a popular tourist destination on the Zambezi. To the south, Zimbabwe is separated from South Africa by the Limpopo River. Zimbabwe also shares a narrow border with Namibia to the west via a narrow land corridor.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Zimbabwe

The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier progress in developing a market-oriented economy. Current problems include a shortage of foreign exchange, soaring inflation, and supply shortages. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. According to official figures, inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to a high of 1193.5% in May 2006, a state of hyperinflation. (It fell to 993.6 in July 2006). The exchange rate fell from 24 Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar to 101,195.54 Zimbabwean dollars per US Dollar (official rate) and 520,000 Zimbabwean dollars per US Dollar (parallel rate), in the same time period.
In an effort to try to curb hyperinflation Zimbabwe's central bank decided to devalue the Zimbabwean dollar by 60% on the last day of July 2006 after announcing it had decided to knock three zeros off all banknotes. Thus the country's interbank (official) exchange rate would be adjusted to Zimbabwean dollars 250 per US Dollar.Zim Observer News (accessed 31 July 2006) (The parallel rate is about 650 per USD)The impact of land reform in Zimbabwe has badly damaged the ability of the commercial farming sector to gain foreign exchange. [https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/zi.html CIA World Factbook] (accessed 03 April 2006)

Shop, Eastern Highlands, 1989

On 1 November 1989, a former junior minister, Denis Walker, produced a paper in London for the Conservative Monday Club's Foreign Affairs Committee on Land Reform in Zimbabwe. In his last paragraph he stated, with clear insight, as events have proved, that "once the land has been redistributed, the commercial farms will be broken up, the remaining white farmers reduced by exile or imprisonment; Zimbabwe's government, already morally bankrupt, will decline towards economic collapse."

In a recent investigation in The Independent it was uncovered that many state-controlled mines have been sold cheaply to the Chinese, in a desperate scramble for foreign currency. It was noted that Mugabe's regime has forsaken much of the control of economic resources, which will prevent Zimbabwe from rebuilding the economy even if the MDC take charge.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Zimbabwe

According to the United Nations World Health Organization, the life expectancy for men is 37 years and the life expectancy for women is 34 years of age, the lowest in the world in 2006. An association of doctors in Zimbabwe have made calls for President Mugabe to make moves to assist the ailing health service.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has many different cultures which may include beliefs and ceremonies, one of them being Shona. The Shona people have many sculptures and carvings of gods (idols) which are made with the finest materials available.

Football is the most popular sport in Zimbabwe, although rugby and cricket also have a following, traditionally among the white minority.

Zimbabwe celebrates its national holiday on April 18.

;ArtsTraditional arts in Zimbabwe include pottery, basketry, textiles, jewelry, and carving. Among the distinctive qualities are symmetrically patterned woven baskets and stools carved out of a single piece of wood. Shona sculpture in essence has been a fusion of African folkore with European influences. Also, a recurring theme in Zimbabwean art is the metamorphosis of man into beast.

;ReligionForty to fifty percent of Zimbabweans attend Christian churches. However like most former European colonies, Christianity is often mixed with traditional beliefs. Besides Christianity, the Mwari cult is the most practiced non-Christian religion which involves ancestor worship and spiritual intercession. Mwari is an unknown supreme being that communicates with humans though a cave dwelling oracle known as the Voice of Mwari.

;LanguageEnglish is the official language of Zimbabwe though only two per cent consider it their native language, mainly the white and Coloured (mixed race) minorities. The rest of the population speak Bantu languages like Shona (76 per cent) and Ndebele (18 per cent). Shona has a rich oral tradition, which was incorporated into the first Shona novel, Feso by Solomon Mutswairo, published in 1957. English is spoken primarily in the cities, but less so in rural areas.

;CuisineLike in many African countries, a majority of Zimbabweans depend on staple foods. Mealie meal or cornmeal as it is known in other parts of the world is used to prepare 'bota', a porridge made by mixing the cornmeal with water, to produce a thick paste. This is usually flavored with peanut butter, milk, butter, and sometimes even jam. Bota is usually eaten for breakfast. Cornmeal is also used to make sadza, which is usually eaten for dinner, and by many for lunch too. The process of making sadza is similar to bota, however after the paste has been cooking for several minutes, more cornmeal is added to thicken the paste until it is hard. This meal is usually served with greens, (spinach, collard greens, rape) etc, beans and meat that is either stewed or grilled or roasted. Sadza is also commonnly eaten with curdled milk commonly known as lacto (mikaka wakakora), or a small dried fish called kapenta. On special occassions rice and chicken with cabbage salad is often served as the main meal. Graduations, weddings and any other family gatherings will usually be celebrated with the killing of a goat or cow, which will be braaied (an Afrikaans word for an outdoor meal, similar to a barbecue) for the gathered family.

List of Zimbabweans

* List of Zimbabweans

Miscellaneous topics

*Doing Business in Zimbabwe The World Bank's Guide to Conducting Businesses in Zimbabwe and Other Countries Across the Globe.
*Communications in Zimbabwe Fixed land lines are operated by Tel-One, a government parastatal. There are 3 Mobile network (cell phone) providers: Econet Wireless, Net*One and Telecel.
*Zimbabwean dollar
*Foreign relations of Zimbabwe
*Land reform in Zimbabwe
*Constitution of Zimbabwe
*List of cities and towns in Zimbabwe 7 Cities in Zimbabwe
**Bulawayo second largest city
**Harare Capital City
**Masvingo
**Mutare
**Gweru
**Kwekwe
**Kadoma
*Elias Fund Nonprofit created to help children in Zimbabwe
*Military of Zimbabwe
*Place names in Zimbabwe
*Reporters without borders World-wide press freedom index 2004: Rank 155 out of 167 countries
*Transportation in Zimbabwe
The Interpreter, a 2005 film featuring a fictional African head of state, apparently based on Robert Mugabe, seeking to avoid being sent to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council for crimes against humanity.
*The Boy Scouts Association of Zimbabwe
*Islam in Zimbabwe

References

External links

Government

*Parliament of Zimbabwe official government site
*Zimbabwe Government Online official government site and mirror site

News

* The Great Zimbabwe Unbiased Zimbabwe news website and forums
* [1] Zimbabwe destruction: One man's story
* New Zimbabwe UK-Based independent daily newspaper
* AllAfrica.com - Zimbabwe news headline links
* IFEX - Zimbabwe press freedom violations
* The Sunday Mirror weekly newspaper
* Zimbabwe Independent weekly newspaper
* The Zimbabwean UK-based independent weekly newspaper
* The Herald State-owned daily newspaper
* Zimbabwe Situation A comprehensive collection of news stories concerning Zimbabwe from different sources

Zimbabwe: Encyclopedia BETA

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