The state of Zimbabwe
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Feb 02 2009 | By: zimbabwewilddogs
Hi folks,
Sorry I haven’t posted for so long: our internet system here in the bush finally died, as did the other system I have occasional access to, so I’ve not been able to get online for a while. We eventually got the technicians down and it appears to be fixed now, so let’s hope it stays that way. It’s a fairly quiet fieldwork time at the moment – both the project scouts are away because they have sick family members, and the wild dogs only need basic monitoring at this time anyway. As of last count – they were all present and correct!
I am spending most of my time doing paperwork: endless fundraising applications, reports, data entry, reading literature and planning the expansion of the project into Gonarezhou National Park and other areas of the Zimbabwean lowveld for this coming year.
I just came back from a few days in Harare where – on the surface – things seem to be functioning fairly well. They have now officially “dollarized” the economy and everything from the newspapers on the street to new television sets are being sold in US$. This means that for those that have access to US$, life is a little bit easier, albeit considerably more expensive, because at least you can actually get things. For the majority of the population though, life remains a constant struggle and US$ notes are much sought after. No-one really bothers with the Zim dollars anymore – they are utterly worthless. The cholera epidemic remains at catastrophic levels and we just had our first case on the ranch I live on. It really is a horrific disease, and the epidemic is classic evidence of the current state of desperation in the country. The only consolation, when it strikes so close to home, is that at least people here in the conservancy will be looked after properly and driven to hospital, and provided with the necessary rehydration drips etc to pull through. It’s hard not being able to do more for people, but at least we can help in this small way.
Rosemary
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Rosemary Groom is a post-doctoral research scientist with the African Wildlife Conservation Fund -
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6 Responses to “The state of Zimbabwe”
sheryl, washington, dc, on 03 Feb 2009
Hi Rosemary, glad your Internet access is functioning again.
I just read about Zimbabwe’s inflation recently but there was no mention of the “dollarizing.” I can’t imagine there’s a lot of U.S. money floating around Zim and are there many goods to buy?
s.
Brenton H, on 03 Feb 2009
Always good to read your blog, Rosemary. Life must be very difficult in Zimbabwe for both the human and animal populations. I have seen the African Wild Dogs in the Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Open Range Zoo. Thankyou for your work to protect these wonderful creatures.
zimbabwewilddogs, on 03 Feb 2009
Hi Sheryl
Actually yes - there is plenty to buy now. All the shops are stocking up from South Africa now that they are able to sell goods in a currency that doesnt devalue overnight and where they dont have to change the prices on things 3 times a day to keep up with inflation. So yes, there is plenty to buy now - for those that have forex…. But you’d be surprised at how resourceful people are, and there is a lot of forex in the country. Even the rural villagers all use it now; that and barter trade. There just isnt any point using Zim $ cos you cant get them… They get the forex from family members employed outside the country who send cash in, or even in country now that everyone is being paid in forex… It’s working for the moment, but I dont know for how long it will remain so. How can you run a country entirely using your arch-enemy’s currency????
Rosemary
job, on 03 Feb 2009
“How can you run a country entirely using your arch-enemy’s currency????” - this is funny.
I am also glad to finally hear some good news from Zimbabwe, believe it or not people being able to access money and having a stable currency, even if it isn’t yours is a really good thing for a country - it allows people to begin taking on business risk - which as you said is why people finally have goods again.
sheryl, washington, dc, on 03 Feb 2009
I wasn’t aware that we are Zimbabwe’s arch enemy. At least there are goods to buy now and people are able to get their hands on some U.S. money. It can’t last forever, though.
s.
zimbabwewilddogs, on 06 Feb 2009
Well, I supposed us Brits are actually arch-enemy number one, but ‘the west’ in general is not high on the governments list of favourite people. Anyhow, as you say, it’s a good thing in may ways as commodities are now avaialble. And making it all legal means that villagers will stop getting beaten up by police for the ‘crime’ of possessing foreign currency, which was what was happening before (mainly so the police could conviscate the cash)….
I’ll let you know what changes I notice when I’m next in town; living in the bush I dont deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis (thank goodness!). But at least we dont have be so secretive about paying our scouts in US$ anymore!
Rosemary
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