Zimbabwe is now facing widespread starvation, and locals say basic food staples in stores are so expensive that few can afford to buy them, and in certain areas basic goods are scarce.
Zimbabwe is now considered one of the four most food-insecure countries in the world, alongside Yemen, Somalia and South Sudan. It is mind-boggling, given that Zimbabwe was once the bread basket of southern Africa.
For most Zimbabweans, meat has become unaffordable; even carrots are a luxury. When Zimbabweans asked President Emmerson Mnangagwa six months ago about the unaffordable price of meat, he said: “If people can’t eat meat, let them eat vegetables.” I watched a friend pack groceries worth thousands of rand into white hessian sacks at the weekend, which would make the over 21-hour journey on the back of a pick-up truck to Harare to feed her family for the next few months. This is reminiscent of when she sent suitcases of emergency food supplies to Harare in 2007 and 2008, when people were starving and the shelves in shops were empty.
At a time of diminishing GDP and skyrocketing inflation, the security forces have seized control of the economy and financial policymaking. On June 26 a Joint Operation Command of security chiefs ordered the government to close the privately-owned Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and to halt mobile money transfers - which host most of the country’s commerce.
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