Three
years after the advent of Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government in February
2009, the country still awaits the elections that people hope will lead
to a more enduring political settlement. Zimbabwe: Mired in Transition
reviews the experience of recent years assesses the progress that has
been made. What is the public mood, and how has it changed? What steps
have been taken to reform the media? How important is a new
constitution. Although the economy has stabilised to some extent with
the adoption of a multi-currency regime, industrial and agricultural
production are depressed, and investment inflows are limited; what
spaces exist for fiscal reform? Are local authority structures and the
state bureaucracy equipped to handle the tasks that will ne asked of
them? In terms of two important areas, the book extends its analysis
further back than 2009. First, is the issue of emigration. Estimates of
the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora range from three to four
million; what impact us this having on national development, and to what
extent might the trend of migration be reversed? The second concerns
young people, the chapter on which concludes: 'We already have a "lost
generation" - those who were once called the "born frees". Unless
positive changes are made, we will still have another'. This collection
of eleven essays examines in detail some of the pressing questions which
Zimbabweans must ask as they chart a way forward.