Structural Adjustment in Zimbabwe
After gaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s new leader, Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF government are said to have inherited nearly 700 million dollars in debt from the former Rhodesian Regime. This set the stage for what can be referred to as the “uneven development,“ as it is argued that Robert Mugabe did not have any other option, than to adopt the neoliberal policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in an attempt to free the Zimbabwean economy (Bond 93). In 1991, Zimbabwe introduced what is known as the Economic Structural Adjustment (ESAP), to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty. The government would “de-emphasise its expenditure on social services and emphasise investment in the material production sectors such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing”(Gibbons 10). To begin economic restructuring, the Zimbabwean government received financial assistance from the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To qualify for assistance, the government had to meet certain requirements in the areas of “budget deficit reduction, fiscal and monetary policy reforms, trade liberalization, public enterprise reforms, deregulation of investment, and labour and price controls”(Bond 90). The people of Zimbabwe were promised that their deteriorating economy would be transformed into a strong self-sustaining one. The majority of the people were poor anyway, and did not realize to what extent they would have to sacrifice with the implementation of Structural Adjustment Programs, said to benefit their economy and increase their standard of living (Riphenburg 1). In Zimbabwe, the Economic Structural Adjustment Program(ESAP) has been detrimental to human development and the welfare of the Zimbabwean people, especially on the areas of employment and wages, health services, education, and food security. Employment and wages has been severely impacted by the implementation of the ESAP and has been a leading factor in the hindering of
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