Zimbabwe has been known over the years for a much higher education and literacy rate compared to its neighbours in southern africa. When zimbabwe gained its independence from colonial rule in april 1980, the majority of. Most of the minority european population in zimbabwe fled the country or were killed. House, london, in 1979, which resulted in the granting of national independence from britain in 1980.
A history of zimbabwe, 18902000 and postscript, zimbabwe, 20012008 by chengetai j. Zimbabwean president robert mugabe and his son chatunga arrive at the national sports stadium in harare on april. Fortunately, the country proclaimed its independence in 1980. In 1979, a new zimbabwerhodesia government called for an education reform that created a threetier school system. However, government failed to vigorously pursue the land redistribution plan in order to resolve the land. In zimbabwe and zanupfs case the process of centralising power took place in stopstart phases. In fact, independence is more important than financial stability. A history of zimbabwe, 18902000 and postscript, zimbabwe. Zimbabwe occupies a special place in african politics and international relations, and has been the subject of intense debates over the years. Twenty years of independence in zimbabwe from liberation to.
However, the new authoritarian regime did not improve the financial condition of zimbabwe. Much will depend on the power struggle within the ruling party, the cohesion of the opp osition and the ability of the international community to seize the moment and re engage the country in a process of real and meaningful change. In terms of practical implications, the study was meant to contribute to the anticipated reformulation of development policies following independence. Zimbabwe achieved its independence in 1980 after a long and protracted armed struggle. Retirement programs for certain groups of state and local government employeesmainly teachers, police officers, and fire fightersdate back to the 19th century. Muchaparara musemwa university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg. Their son douglas tells the story of how they and their motley staff seek to coexist.
Colonialism and inequity in zimbabwe 249 ryan hill ryan hill is a project coordinator with iucnrosa in harare. After almost seven decades of independence, india has emerged as the third largest producer of electricity in asia. Postindependence zimbabwe saw several economic and. The war of liberation was fought mainly to gain recognition for and respect of peoples rights with regard to among others culture, land, education and conditions of work. This book can therefore be regarded as the final preindependence statement from this significant group of academics who sympathized with the struggle. At independence in 1980, the country was better endowed than most in africa, and seemed poised for. Anyways, the war continued for the 15 years between the signing of the unilateral declaration of independence and 1980, when modern zimbabwe was founded. This collection offers comprehensive insights into pivotal areas of concern regarding developments in zimbabwe since its independence. Images of chaos, destruction and violence have dominated the coverage. Zimbabwe has a recognised tradition of judicial independence and concern for human rights that spans not only the years since independence but dates back to colonial times. Reviewing these essays some six years after publication allows one the benefit of hindsight.
Zimbabwe occupies a special place in african politics and international. Education is identified as one of the principal means of enhancing socioeconomic development and transformation in zimbabwe. Rising inflation and unemployment bred discontent in the 1990s and led in 1999 to the formation of the opposition movement for democratic change mdc. Following the lancaster house agreement of 1979 there was a transition to internationally recognized majority rule in 1980.
Donors were also forthcoming with financial assistance. Since independence, zimbabwes economy, like many african states, has been. Zimbabwe is a country with a rich history, dating from the early san huntergatherer. But after this, rhodesia would finally become the country we know today. This girl represents the many girls of zimbabwe who have the potential to succeed and need support. Post independence health service developments in zimbabwe. It was, nevertheless, clear at the time that the attainment of genuine independence was close. The story is not simply one of collapse and catastrophe. Social development in zimbabwe discussion paper prepared for the development foundation for zimbabwe by dr tendai murisa december 2010 dr tendai murisa is a zimbabwean with extensive experience working on various projects aimed at improving pro land and agrarian policies in africa. Growth decelerated between 2010 and 2012 due to policy inconsistencies and political uncertainty showing that while it is relatively easy to ignite recovery.
Tribal hostilities become a noticeable feature of zimbabwes political life after mugabe dismisses nkomo from his cabinet in 1982, just two years after independence. Twenty years of independence in zimbabwe from liberation. The robert mugabe led zimbabwe african national union patriotic front zanupf party ascended to governmental power after winning the 1980 general elections. Opinion columnist history of labor in zimbabwe before and after independence part one. Political, social and economic developments and challenges. Indeed, the political climate during the colonial period was akin to south africa. In response, rhodesia further developed a selfsufficient and diversified industrial sector, an extensive infrastructure, and a functioning financial sector that zimbabwe inherited at independence.
Indeed, these have been part of the reality but there have also been successes, which have thus far gone largely unrecorded. After winning independence, mugabes zimbabwe found itself in a good position, with a reasonable economy among other achievements. History of labor in zimbabwe before and after independence. Post independence zimbabwe saw several economic and.
By the end of the first decade of independence, zimbabwe had achieved. By disclosing the intraelite competition, assessing the performance of zimbabwes economy and explaining how the countrys natural resources have been managed, we can better understand the ruling zanupfs increasing. Before the act, zimbabwes education system was divided between african and european schools. Even after independence, a white minority continued to own most of the highquality, productive land and to operate largescale commercial farms. Saldru, level 3, school of economic building, middle campus, university of cape town, rondebosch, 7700. James muzondidyas chapter details the transistion from buoyancy to crisis, and brian raftopoulos concludes the book with an analysis of the decadelong crisis and the global political agreement which followed. Cgd is grateful for contributions from the african development bank in support of this work. Nowhere has zimbabwe performed as poorly as it has done as in economic development since it gained independence in 1980. Twenty years of independence in zimbabwe south african history. Initialpostcolonial developments zambia in general and the copperbelt district in particular emerged from the white settlerdominated colonial period with an education system illsuited to educating the newly independent states african population. It has increased its electricity generation capacity from 1,362 mw in 1947 to. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
African governance systems in the pre and post independence periods. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Development, and director of the institute of commonwealth studies, school of. Pdf development processes are not linear in their progression. Zimbabwes zanupf offers important parallels and insights into the. A school girls picture by rick walton, taken in 1989. In 1983, for instance, the british government gave about 40 millions pounds sterling to the zimbabwe government for the purpose of land redistribution. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern africa and harare is its capital city. This book examines zimbabwes precolonial, colonial and postcolonial social, economic and political history and relates historical factors and trends to more recent developments in the country. Enduring lessons and opportunities for youth in africa a discussion paper prepared by professor amadu sesay, centre for peace and strategic studies, university of ilorin, nigeria for the mandela institute for development studies, johannesburg, south africa july 11 2014. After independence in 1980, zimbabwe enjoyed a period of buoyancy and hope.
Pdf in its 36 years of existence as an independent state since 1980, zimbabwe has come up with. In 1987 the two leaders make a new attempt to resolve the nations divisions by merging their parties as zanupf, making zimbabwe effectively a oneparty state. Therefore, let us pay attention to the efforts that have been taken to make zimbabwe an independent state. Zimbabwe is one of the countries that were under the rule of britain. Economic and social reforms since independence zimbabwe s independence saw the ushering in of a primary health care phc approach designed to reduce these many disparities. This study was started before the legal independence of zimbabwe on 18 april 1980. Recent developments zimbabwean politics zimbabwe and. Political, social and economic developments and challenges in kenya from 1960 to 2010 college university of nairobi course historiography grade 0. That party has thus been in office for thirty years at the time of writing this.
The education act of 1979 regulated access to each type of school through a zoning system based on residency. However, it merely summarises the period 1980 to 2005, since the events of those years are of importance to this research report are divided up and. First, the article provides a brief look at preindependence education in zimbabwe. Professor mlambos book will become the classic text on the history of zimbabwe for a long time to come. He joined iucn in 1999, after several years consulting to government and industry in canada on a wide range of environment and. Petina gappahs top 10 books about zimbabwe books the.
Zimbabwe since the inception of the inclusive government of zimbabwe in february 2009, zimbabwe has been recovering from a low economic base. Economic and social reforms since independence zimbabwes independence saw the ushering in of a primary health care phc approach designed to reduce these many disparities. The african ejournals project has digitized full text of. This book is a mustread for anyone interested in understanding the long historical trajectory of contemporary socioeconomic and political developments in zimbabwe. It is reasonable to analyze the history of zimbabwe independence starting from the period of the british rule. A catalogue record for this book is available from the british library.
James muzondidyas chapter details the transition from buoyancy to crisis, and brian raftopoulos concludes the book with an analysis of the decadelong crisis and the global political agreement which followed. Postindependence zimbabwean government has adopted and implemented policies and projects shaped by. Like most other former colonies, zimbabwe, at independence, inherited a racially determined socioeconomic system. In the 2000s zimbabwes economy began to deteriorate due to various factors, including, the imposition of economic sanctions by western countries led by. Since independence, the country has made great progress towards.
After a brief post independ ence economic boom, much of the population experienced a decline in economic wellbeing. Riddell for zimbabwe, 1984 has been a year of taking stock and reflecting upon the progress made since the british flag was ceremonially pulled down for the last time and africas newest independent state became a reality in april 1980. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Background congressional research service summary zimbabwes prospects appeared promising in 1980, as it gained independence after a long liberation war. However, zimbabweans also fought for independence so that they would achieve self. For more than 90 years zimbabwe suffered from the european exploitation and civil war. The country is slowly recovering from a period of social, political and economic crisis that has lasted form. However, in 1984 members of the zapu front and of ndebele descent began to resist government rule in a. The section entitled post colonialism deals with the years of transition and transformation after independence. Even after classrooms were built it was still common in the 1980s to find eight to ten pupils jockeying for position around a single text book.