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Template:Zimbabwe infobox

The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) is a country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. The name Zimbabwe (Shona: great stone houses) is a tribute to Great Zimbabwe, site of the capital of the Munhumutapa Empire.

History

Main article: History of Zimbabwe

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations.

Colonial Era

In 1888 British imperialist Cecil Rhodes extracted mining rights from King Lobengula of the Ndebele. In 1889 Rhodes obtained a charter for the British South Africa Company, with the object of occupying and administering what subsequently became known as Rhodesia and to mine gold and other minerals. In 1895 a column of 200 armed whites recruited by the BSA Coy in South Africa occupied Mashonaland and promoted the colonization of the region and its land, labor, and mineral resources. Both the Ndebele and the Shona staged unsuccessful revolts against white colonialist encroachment on their native lands in 1896-1897. Ambuya Nehanda, Chaminuka, Muponda, and other Shona spirit mediums and rulers were leaders in this rebellion which led to their subsequent capture and execution. The bodies of these leaders were never handed to their people as a way to quell the rebellion. The Shonas and the Ndebeles with their spears and knobkerries were no match to the heavily armed British South Africa Police (as the police force of Rhodesia was called), who had horses, guns and cannons. This was later known as the first Chimurenga (War of Liberation). Chief Garikai Chiremba was captured by the British and it has been alleged that he revealed ancient Zimbabwean platinum smelting secrets to them[citation needed].

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 (later called Zambia) were combined with Nyasaland, (now called Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation. After the federation was dissolved in 1963, the white minority administration in Southern Rhodesia (known simply as Rhodesia from 1964) demanded independence, but the British government had adopted a policy of NIBMAR — No Independence Before Majority African Rule.

In response, the government of Prime Minister Ian Smith made a unilateral declaration of independence on November 11, 1965. The United Kingdom called the declaration a direct act of rebellion but did not attempt to reestablish control by force. When negotiations in 1966 and 1968 proved fruitless, economic sanctions against Rhodesia were suggested, but were blocked by the UK in the Security Council. In an attempt to distance the country from the United Kingdom, Smith declared Rhodesia a republic in 1970, but this did not result in international recognition. Smith continued to administer a largely segregated social system which has been compared to apartheid.

Insurrection

Opposition to white rule strengthened and began with a skirmish at Chinoyi where six fighters of the Zanla forces fought with the government forces. Zanla and Zipra employed guerrilla tactics that were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. This was a global phenomenon as the movement to fight for the equal rights for Africans both on the continent and in the diaspora gathered momentum in the latter half of the 20th century. With the end of Portuguese rule in neighbouring Mozambique in 1975, Frelimo led by Samora Machel lent assistance to ZANLA forces and the resistance intensified into a large-scale uprising known as the Second Chimurenga or the "War of liberation".

Despite the operational successes of Rhodesian Security Forces against the Communist backed guerrillas, the government was eventually forced to give in due to the pressure from restrictive economic and military sanctions. However, even under this strain, Rhodesian forces still managed to mount highly effective external raids on guerrilla forward bases in both Zambia and Mozambique, while evolving the use of "fireforce" battle tactics. Even so, by 1978, Smith and his cabinet had realized that the situation was no longer tenable, and sought a compromise with moderate black leaders, and selected Bishop Abel Muzorewa to become the new leader of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

Muzorewa, who not only had the support of Ian Smith but with the government in South Africa as well, lacked credibility among significant sectors of the African population. The Muzorewa government soon faltered. In 1979, the British Government asked all parties to come to Lancaster House in an attempt to negotiate a settlement in the civil war.

Independence

Following the conference, held in London (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. Mugabe has won every election since -- although most elections have not been up to international standards.

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.In February 1983 Mugabe sent in the Fifth Brigade (also known as the Gukurahundi) to Tsholotsho, Matebeleland North. In 1984 they moved across the Manzamnyama River into Matebeleland South. There were widespread attacks on white farmers and Shonas in small parts of Masvingo, Midlands, and Matebeleland provinces. The most famous of these was known as Gwesela who led his followers in attacks against Shonas. This saw the government mobilising the Fifth Brigade headed by Colonel Perence Shiri to quell the insurgency; however the turn of events led to atrocities being 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) into the ZANU Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

The drought in southern Africa, perhaps the worst of the century, affected Zimbabwe so severely that a national disaster was declared in 1992. The drought compounded the country's debt crisis, and the ensuing IMF-backed economic adjustment and austerity program caused further widespread hardship.

With the implementation of majority rule, whites still remained dominant in the nation's economy. They made up less than 1% of the population but held 70% of the country's commercially viable arable land, of which only a small parcel had been purchased and reallocated to blacks since independence in 1980. However whites held no political power. Land redistribution from whites reemerged as the political issue beginning in 1999.

The forced removal of the white farmers brought about sharp rises in the prices of agricultural commodities such as corn and sugar and led to the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy. Zimbabwe was formerly an important net food exporter to the region but now 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. This has left the large majority of landless blacks worse off, due to a catastrophic fall in productivity, a spectacular rise in inflation (600% in February 2006) and widespread unemployment [1].

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. Later, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth.

Following elections in 2005, the government initiated 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 as a result of Mugabe's program[2]. Mugabe's Government has initiated the housing construction program 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 [3].

Politics

Main article: Politics of Zimbabwe

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 18 April 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 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 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.


Education

Zimbabwe had a literacy rate of 90.2% in 2000, the highest in Africa. For males, the country's adult literacy rate (the percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write) of 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%.

This is despite the fact that international agencies like the World Bank and IMF in the early 1990's had been calling on government to reduce its spending and reduce the civil service of which the bulk are teachers and health professionals. The literacy rate is higher than most developed countries and this is with the limited resources that the government of Zimbabwe has. [4] [5]

[6]

Administrative divisions of Zimbabwe.

Administrative Divisions

Main article: Provinces of Zimbabwe, Districts of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is divided into 8 provinces and 2 cities with provincial status. It is 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, and Midlands.

Districts: see Districts of Zimbabwe

Municipalities: see Municipalities of Zimbabwe

Geography

Main article: Geography of Zimbabwe

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.

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 (586% in 2005), 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. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 586% at the end of 2005, while the exchange rate fell from 24 Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar to 85,000 per US Dollar, in the same time period. The impact of land reform in Zimbabwe has badly damaged the ability of the commercial farming sector to gain foreign exchange. [7]

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Zimbabwe

Culture

Main article: Culture of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe celebrates its national holiday on April 18.

Miscellaneous topics

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.

Government

News

Protest movements

Directories

Tourism

Other

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