Examining Prospects for Democratic Reform and Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe

Book excerpt: Today we will focus our attention on Zimbabwe, a country with abundant natural resources, human resources, fertile land, and a capable and enterprising population. Zimbabwe should be driving growth and prosperity in southern Africa, but today instead, in the 33 years since independence, Zimbabweans' prospects have become increasingly bleak, having reached a low point in 2008 when the economy nearly collapsed and having slowly made modest progress since. It is no coincidence the economic collapse came at the same time as a significant decrease in respect for democratic principles and the rule of law and harsh crackdowns on free expression, civil society, and the news media. Zimbabweans will go to the polls at some point later this year for the first elections under their newly ratified constitution, and the preparation for and conduct of these elections will be an important indicator of whether Zimbabwe can and will realize its great economic and democratic potential. Today's hearing will look at the tools the United States could effectively deploy to support the upcoming elections and post-electoral reforms, to support increased respect for human rights and rule of law and mutually beneficial relations between our countries.