Zimbabwe heads for Venezuela-style meltdown – FT

EDINBURGH — For many Zimbabweans, life couldn't be worse than under President Robert Mugabe – which is why they cheered in the streets when a light-touch military coup pushed Mugabe out of power in 2017, opening the way for Emmerson Mnangagwa. The new president was known for being linked to genocide, but onlookers were happy to give him the benefit of the doubt when it came to getting Zimbabwe back on track. But Mnangagwa has failed quickly in his role as president and it hasn't taken long for stories of citizens being brutalised by the authorities to emerge. Influential business newspaper the Financial Times has assessed developments in Zimbabwe, coming to the conclusion that things are going to get a lot worse. Expect a Venezuela-style meltdown and severe hardship for its people as thugs clutch onto power. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

The editorial board of the Financial Times has published a scathing overview of Zimbabwe, predicting that it is heading for a Venezuela-style meltdown. Worryingly, there are no signs that there could be an improvement in the economic situation without a radical political overhaul – and that seems unlikely.

The FT board says the president of Zimbabwe would like the world to know he is shocked. "After Sky News broadcast footage this week of soldiers beating an unarmed man in the street, Emmerson Mnangagwa tweeted that he was 'appalled'. 'I have instructed that the individuals behind this be arrested,'" he added.

It is unclear, says the FT, whether Mr Mnangagwa has watched Casablanca, the 1942 film in which Captain Louis Renault, the corrupt Vichy prefect of police, feigns shock at the gambling in Rick's Bar.

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