A primary cause of this economic paralysis is the overwhelming dominance of industries controlled by politicians, many of whom have never worked a day in their lives outside of government office. This politico-industrial complex, where politicians run key industries with little to no relevant experience, has stifled innovation, perpetuated corruption, and left ordinary Zimbabweans in a precarious situation. As these individuals use their political power to control vital sectors such as mining, agriculture, and energy, they are steering the economy into a state of stagnation while amassing personal wealth.
Zimbabwe’s current economic woes date back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, during the height of former President Robert Mugabe’s rule. What began as a series of land reforms quickly turned into a broader scheme where political elites seized control of industries. Initially, the focus was on agriculture, as Zimbabwe’s controversial land redistribution policy expropriated large-scale commercial farms from white farmers and handed them over to politically connected individuals.
However, rather than being a tool for empowerment, this policy laid the groundwork for the emergence of a patronage-based economy. Politicians, many of whom had no background in farming or agribusiness, suddenly found themselves in control of vast tracts of land. Predictably, agricultural productivity plummeted, contributing to widespread food insecurity in a nation once known as the “breadbas.