A South African lawyer shared his experiences during his stay in Zimbabwe, stating that while he enjoyed his time there, the country has numerous problems that need to be addressed. He mentioned issues such as predetermined elections, the lack of functional infrastructure, the need for cash payments at petrol stations, non-working traffic lights in the capital city of Harare, and outdated public transportation.
The lawyer also highlighted the slow progress of road construction, the high cost of food, and the restriction on public criticism of the president. Despite these challenges, he acknowledged the friendliness of the people and the absence of crime. He said:
I enjoyed my stay in Zimbabwe but it’s a crappy country. Nothing works here.
I spoke to couple of guys, one of them is 28 years old. He told me he doesn’t vote because the elections are predetermined. But the president said the recent elections were free and fair You drive to different petrol stations, they don’t swipe. You actually need to carry cash in order to get petrol.
The traffic lights don’t work, in Harare of all places. Imagine. We passed through some tollgates. You’d swear the roads leading to them are in a village. People don’t bank any money to avoid paying tax. There’s a fast food restaurant called Chicken Inn, the less said about it the better. You don’t have signage on the national road leading to the border showing you mileage you still need to travel The buses that are used there, the models . You’d swear you are back in 1991 just by seeing them
The infrastructure development is at an all time low. And I say this having been to Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique. The road from the border to Harare has one lane It has construction which has apparently been going on for years. You literally travel on gravel on a national road. We took over 5 hours to get through the border. I have never seen anything like that.
You can’t criticise the president in public, you may get arrested.
The food is expensive.
But the people are friendly. Vibe is good and there’s no crime as I’m told by Locals. I want to go to Victoria Falls but it’ll be through flights. The roads are terrible, unfortunately, and I thought we had terrible roads. I’m perplexed about people trying to stand up against my truth.
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Joseph Kalimbwe, a Zambian politician and critic of the Zimbabwean government sarcastically said the lawyer must not say bad things about Zimbabwe. He said:
How can you say such things brother ? You are sponsored by America to speak bad about a country that fought & waged a liberation struggle against imperialist forces. You are on a regime change agenda so that your masters can impose more sanctions on a good country.
Some said the lawyer’s negative experience may have been influenced by his choice of a budget hotel, but he defended his decision, stating that the N1 hotel where he was staying was actually nice and affordable. Another person, Norma Kay, encouraged the lawyer to share further details about his experiences, asking about what didn’t work and whether there was electricity in Zimbabwe. He responded:
They have electricity. Funny enough, when I got to S.A, load shedding hit
The lawyer expressed a desire to return to Zimbabwe to experience Victoria Falls by air due to poor road conditions.
Zimbabwe has faced significant economic challenges over the years resulting in the deterioration of its infrastructure. The government has failed to invest adequately in infrastructure, leading to poor living standards, widespread poverty, and abandoned projects. Despite promises to address these issues, little progress has been made, largely due to corruption and negligence.
The country’s economic decline can be traced back to the 1990s when the IMF-initiated Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) was implemented. Further exacerbating the situation were ill-advised government policies such as payment of unbudgeted bonuses for war veterans and the fast-track land reform program. The government attributes the ills to sanctions imposed on the country by Western powers following the land reform programme which ousted white farmers.