1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

Victoria Falls.
G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N
G e og r ap hy and Po p u l a t i o n
Z i m b a b we is a landlocked country covering 390,757 km 2 i n
Southern Africa between the Limpopo and Zambezi rive r s . I t s
neighbours are Mozambique, N a m i b a , M a l aw i , Z a m b i a , S o u t h
Africa and Botsw a n a . The official and business language is
E n g l i s h . Shona and Ndebele are widely spoken local languages.
The population of ap p rox i m a t e ly 12.3 million (1997) is grow i n g
at an annual rate of 3.3 perc e n t . S l i g h t ly more than half the
population is between 15 and 64 years of age. Z i m b a b we was
r a n ked 129 out of 175 countries in the 1997 UNDP Human
D evelopment Index 1 which puts it in the medium human
d evelopment catego ry.
Political Ove rv i ew
Z i m b a b we has had an exe c u t i ve president and an independent
j u d i c i a ry since 1987. The parliamentary system is unicameral
with 150 members, and thirty of them are appointed by the
p re s i d e n t ,including eight chiefs and eight provincial gove r n o r s .
In the current parliament 117 seats belong to the ruling Zanu PF
while two are taken Zanu (Ndonga) led by Reve re n d
Ndabaningi Sithole. One seat has been secured by an
independent candidate.The last elections we re held in 1996, a n d
the next elections are scheduled for 2002.
Sectoral Description
Z i m b a b we is rich in natural re s o u rces and produces more than
40 types of metals and minerals. A p p rox i m a t e ly 40 percent of
1 )
The ranking is based on life expectancy at birt h , adult literacy, c o m b i n e d
p r i m a ry, s e c o n d a ry and tert i a ry education enrolment ratio and adjusted GDP
per cap i t a .
the country ’s fo reign exchange is earned from the export of
these metals and minerals. Z i m b a b we has the wo r l d ’s third
largest known source of high grade chro m i t e,and second largest
s o u rce of platinum group metals.R e c e n t ly,it was discove red that
the country has potential to be one of the major diamond
p roducing countries in Southern A f r i c a , and several potential
diamond areas have already been identified.
A g r i c u l t u re has been the main contributor to the high grow t h
rate achieved during the past three ye a r s .A g r i c u l t u re employ s
about 30 percent of the working population and provides many
r aw materials re q u i red by the manufacturing sector. M a j o r
e x p o rt commodities are tobacco and horticultural pro d u c e.
C rops like sugar, t e a , c o f fe e, c o t t o n ,m a i z e, small grains and oil
seeds are also export e d , as well as live s t o c k , d a i ry pro d u c t s ,
w i l d l i fe and poultry.
The manufacturing sector is well developed and re l a t i ve ly
d i ve r s i f i e d .This sector has responded positive ly to a dere g u l a t e d
e c o n o my and has become one of the major contributors to
g row t h .
Tourism is Zimbabwe ’s fastest growing industry. The industry
c u rre n t ly contributes six percent to GDP and is expected to
g row by an average of 28 percent annu a l ly to achieve a target of
10 percent contribution to GDP by the year 2000.
I n f r a s t r u c t u re
Generation and distribution of electricity is undert a ken by the
Z i m b a b we Electricity Supply A u t h o r i t y. H y d roelectric power is
generated from the Zambezi river at Kariba, and there are fo u r
thermal power stations. Z i m b a b we is on the regional powe r
grid linking it to sources in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of
C o n go and South A f r i c a .
Z i m b a b we has an extensive rail and road transport netwo r k
linking it to principal ports in Mozambique and South A f r i c a ,a n d
to all neighbouring countries. The rail netwo r k , s u p p l e m e n t e d
by the National Railw ays of Zimbabwe ’s Road Motor Serv i c e s
and a thriving privately run trucking industry, handles the bulk of
i m p o rts and export s . The railw ay company is administered as a
p a r a s t a t a l .
T h e re are 18,435 km of state ro a d s ,of which 8,710 are surfaced
and 9,725 grave l l e d . Another 61,630 km in rural areas are
maintained by local and district authorities.
The national airline, Air Zimbabwe, is a commercial body
a d m i n i s t e red by the Ministry of Tr a n s p o rt and Energy. I t
p rovides regular internal connections to Bulaw ayo and the
principal tourist destinations of Victoria Falls, Hwange and Lake
K a r i b a . It also provides direct services to various A f r i c a n
d e s t i n a t i o n s ,Australia and the UK. S everal established re g i o n a l
and international carriers have scheduled flights to Harare.
A f f re t a i r, the national cargo airline, handles specialised cargo fo r
destinations wo r l d w i d e. Facilities include a 200-tonne cold
room at Harare A i r p o rt . Work on a new international airport
is pro g ressing in the cap i t a l .
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