Last week’s luncheon on the current state of Zimbabwe, sponsored by Freedom House, featured Jestina Mukoko, a 2010 International Woman of Courage recipient, and Rindai Chipfunde, founding director of Zimbabwe Election Support Network. The event’s objective was to present perspectives from civil society in the country, and both speakers spoke of the fragile peace, the current state of human rights on the ground, and their opinions as to what further actions are necessary to realize a true democratized Zimbabwe. 

In her speech, Mrs. Mukoko pinpointed areas in Zimbabwean society where considerable gains have been made within a short period of time. In 2010, inflation declined from a dizzying 79600000000% per month to 5.1%, inducing a period of relative calm in the national economy, allowing for basic commercial transactions. This monetary stability helped usher in a sight long forgotten by Zimbabweans: foodon shelves at the market. No longer do people have to travel to South Africa to buy food. But new concerns loom as to whether Zimbabweans are financially capable of purchasing these materials and commodities within their communities. 

The Education and Health department have both received a boost from the economic upswing in the country. Teachers were given vouchers the equivalent of $100 per month, a stark contrast to previously unlivable or nonexistent payments. This amount has now been increased to $150 per month. In addition, more Zimbabweans have access to proper health facilities and care since the Global Peace Accord (GPA) has been in effect. 

However, These marginal gains in varying parts of Zimbabwean life have been offset by continual human rights abuses by the government. Mrs. Mukoko, soon after the GPA was signed, along with other members of the MDC, was kidnapped and held without charge. Still, her organization, the Zimbabwean Peace Project (ZPP), noticed a dramatic decline in human rights abuses in their records over the same period of time.

There are many reasons to be alarmed. For one, the constitutional agreement is seven months late, and some groups have declined to participate because it is not as people-driven as promised by the MDC. The Kariba draft constitution being floated by Zanu PF is currently the most widely known and contended; while its drafters are all men, threats are being issued to garner support for it from women in rural areas.

In order for national healing to occur, human rights abuses must cease.  The continuation of human rights violations prevents Zimbabweans from participating in the healing process. While the GPA has sustained many gains, this remains a challenge, especially considering that one of the tenets of the agreement was for political parties to renounce violence. 

For Zimbabweans to participate in the upcoming elections, a multi-pronged approach is required.  According to Mrs. Chipfunde, these approaches must cover three areas: capacity-building, transparency, and changing the human rights environment. The upcoming elections will happen, mostly due to pressure from the international community, however, efforts should be taken to ensure they take place in the most fair and transparent manner possible, guaranteeing the full participation of Zimbabweans.

By Adienamikiphe Igoni

From Bono to Angelina Jolie, the ‘cool’ humanitarian thing to do these days is to send money to Africa, you know, to help feed, shelter, educate and provide medical services to the starving boney children with flies on their eyes. What may come across as shocking to the Bonos of our world is that not all humanitarian efforts have helped the continent, at least that’s what Moyo would say. Most Africanists have heard of Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo for her clear-cut assertion that foreign aid has not only stagnated, but that it has also been the root cause of developmental retardation for the African continent. Perhaps it is a combination of Moyo’s conservative side and her African roots that have given her considerable attention, often compared to Ayaan Hirsi-Ali -another conservative figure bred on the continent who is widely known for criticizing the Prophet Muhammad. It comes as no surprise that both Hirsi Ali and Moyo have contributed their knowledge and experience to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a harbor of conservative scholar academia.

The emergence of popular, educated African women icons such as Moyo has given Western as well as other audiences new paths for understanding why Africa’s predicament is still enduring decades after colonial rule. Moyo’s perspective is not a completely unexplored opinion, authors such as Paul Easterly have advocated for diminishing help from bureaucratic organizations and instead searching for what he refers to as ‘homegrown development’. So what is fundamentally different about ‘Dead Aid’?  Moyo’s audience ranges from prominent politicians such as Rwandan President Paul Kagame who have been pushing for gradual independence from foreign assistance, to economists such as Jeffrey Sachs who advocate for the ‘end of [African] poverty’ through Western aid.

Throughout her many interviews, Moyo reiterates the main issues that she also raises in her book, one of which argues that foreign aid fuels corruption since there is no transparent allocation of the donation. Moyo raises an interesting point about the lack of fund appropriation for foreign aid; she also understands how this has trapped Africa in an aid dependency cycle that, coupled with operational bureaucracies, disables the development of private enterprise. Thirdly, Moyo argues that ‘large inflows of capital… really kill off the export sector’ because most African nations are abundant in extractable minerals and resources. Finally, Moyo elaborates on the consequences of corruption that result in the African government’s lack of accountability, rather than being held responsible by its people, governments have geared their liability to international organizations and businesses. As a result, Moyo makes the assertion that an African middle-class is barely existent, instead the disparities between the wealthy who remain in power and the poor who are barely surviving, continue to be the center of African realities.

Personally, I would say that Moyo’s collection of data that support her one-sided views have elements of truth within them, however, it would be unrealistic to reinforce a 'let's cut off all foreign aid to Africa' instantly. Despite the corruption and the bureaucracy, foreign aid has been the main source for the survival of at least an estimated millions, for this reason, the plan to decrease and eventually cut off foreign aid would be to strengthen the government's provision of public services. The measures would take time especially because most African governments are known for their notorious personal economic drives, that is why an internal change in the political institutions would have to be upheld alongside the development of a stronger civil society. As Moyo suggests, micro-finance is one of the most effective ways of establishing these goals since a 'homegrown' or bottom-up development could be sustainable in the long-term growth of Africa.The biggest challenges remain: how to deal with political greed? how do we create incentives for African governments to establish public services?