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Zimbabwe is recovering from an outbreak of cholera, a disease described by the
president as “medieval,” that killed at least 50 people in the capital, Harare.

Many fear the current crisis, induced by foreign currency shortages and a ballooning
debt, could spiral into the kind of economic collapse seen a decade ago when
Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation reached 500 billion percent, according to the International
Monetary Fund, and cholera killed more than 4,000 people.

Plastic bags of 100-trillion Zimbabwe dollar banknotes were not enough to buy basic
groceries. People fear a return to that hyperinflation.

The new currency shortage has forced the government to rely on the printing of bond
notes, which are rapidly losing value. The government has also been paying civil
servants through electronic funds that show up in bank accounts but cannot be turned
into cash. There is also a system of mobile money. All of which are devaluing quickly
against the U.S. dollar on the black market.

“The government hasn’t moved in the new direction any distance yet,” said Harare
based economic consultant John Robertson.

“There is no improvement in liquidity, no improvement in foreign reserves either
borrowed or earned and no improvement in investment inflows so it is becoming
increasingly disappointing. People’s patience has worn really thin,” said Robertson.

Mnangagwa’s government asserts that some things have improved.

“A lot has changed. It has been a very active period for us. We hope to achieve the best
for Zimbabweans in the nearest future,” deputy information minister Energy Mutodi told
The Associated Press.

Mutodi admitted that “the economy is our biggest challenge” but pointed to more
freedoms as a sign of a new direction.

“Freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of association; things that were
taboo in the past are now being entrenched and fortified in this era,” said Mutodi. Police
roadblocks, where motorists were routinely hassled for bribes, have been eradicated,
for instance.

Critics say Mnangagwa’s government remains repressive, citing arrests of people
accused of criticizing the president, a characteristic of Mugabe’s regime. They also point
to the killing of six people when the military fired into protesters on Aug. 2 and the
banning of anti-government demonstrations.