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Article: Zimbabwe: a Pattern for S. Africa? While Blacks Hold Political Power, Whites Dominate Economy
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- April 9, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Count the white faces in the boardrooms of the sleek skyscrapers,
on the verandas of the gracious sports clubs and around the tables of
the chic restaurants. Then submit to a pop history quiz: Who won the
liberation war, anyway?
Blacks did. But 15 years after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe and the
second-to-last bastion of white-minority rule in sub-Saharan Africa
vanished, it's easy to be confused.
Whites, who make up less than 1 percent of Zimbabwe's population,
own an estimated 97 percent of the private wealth here. By many
standards, they are living better than ever. Meanwhile, the black
masses disproportionately bear the burden of a rising unemployment
rate, now at 25 percent, steep ...