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Article: Poorer and angrier.(corruption in Zimbabwe)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 15, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Zimbabwe
HARARE AND BULAWAYO
With the government arbitrary and corrupt, opposition is growing
WHY is Zimbabwe such a mess? The president, Robert Mugabe, blames witches and traitors. Others blame Mr Mugabe. In the 18 years since his country ended white rule, unemployment has trebled to an estimated 25-30%. Since 1990, real wages have fallen by a third. Workers in the cities no longer blame global capitalism for their plummeting standard of living; they blame their head of state, and the party cronies who keep him in the job.
Having run up a series of budget deficits of 10% or so of GDP, the government is trying to fill the gap by raising taxes ...