Will Zimbabwe Economy Boom? Mugabe’s Biggest Task

Written by Ann Brown

Aug 31, 2013

President Robert Mugabe, sworn in for a seventh-consecutive term in office recently, faces the unenviable task of pulling Zimbabwe out of the doldrums.

It is certain that how he performs in the next five years will make a lasting impression on his legacy that so far has been filled with several twists and turns of high and low points.

Mugabe, who turns 90 in February, will now need to use all the political wit and acumen he has accumulated over the past 33 years at the helm of government to deal with a plethora of challenges that plague the country.

These include an economy in recession, pleasing an agitated public service, courting foreign investors and creating jobs for unemployed youths.

Estimates from the United Nations put the rate of unemployment in Zimbabwe at over 80 percent of the national population – with youths bearing the greatest brunt.