NEARLY a decade after Emmerson Mnangagwa became president and significantly consolidated power, but new data shows that Harare is among the worst cities to live in as it dropped into bottom 10 among 173 cities across the globe.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) this week released EIU Global Liveability Index, an annual report that ranks cities across the globe on how attractive they are to live in across five main categories that include: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
The EIU says: “EIU’s Global Liveability Index assesses 173 cities across the world across 30 indicators grouped into five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, with the aim of showing how comfortable these cities are to live in.”
Harare is positioned number 165 out of 173.
This comes in the same week Mnangagwa signed Constitution Amendment No.3 Act.
Harare was only above the following cities: Kyiv (Ukraine), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) Lagos (Nigeria), Algiers (Algeria), Karachi (Pakistan), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Tripoli (Libya) and Damascus (Syria).
It is interesting that the majority of these cities in the bottom 10 are found in countries where there are wars.
How did Harare perform in each category?
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On stability 40, heath care 33, culture and environment 57, education 67 and infrastructure 36.
These are damning statistics for a country aspiring to be an upper middle-income country by 2030.
What are the sub-categories in each of the five main scoring sectors?
Stability refers to prevalence of petty crime, prevalence of violent crime, threat of terror, threat of military conflict and threat of civil unrest/conflict.
In other words, Harare is seen as a city with high prevalence of these threats.
Harare scored the least on healthcare (33).
The report looked at the following: availability of private healthcare, quality of private healthcare, availability of public healthcare, quality of public healthcare, availability of over-the-counter drugs and other general healthcare indicators.
What does this mean?
It means if one falls sick in Harare, they are likely to die or will have to travel to another country to seek medical attention.
This can also be observed at our borders Chirundu and Beitbridge.
Many sick Zimbabweans are crossing the borders into Zambia and South Africa in search of medical care.
The rich and affluent travel to India, China, Malaysia or Western Europe cities for medical attention.
On culture and environment, Harare scored a decent 57.
This category, among other things includes, humidity/temperature, discomfort of climate to travellers, level of corruption, international social or religious restrictions, level of censorship, sporting availability, cultural availability, food and drink and consumer goods and services.
It is easier to notice that these are areas that are supported by the private sector and in the wealthy sections of the city, Samora Machel Avenue remaining the great divide of the city.
Most sports clubs are north of Samora.
The new shopping complexes that have international branches and franchises are also found north of Samora.
New mansions and flats are going up north of Samora.
One cannot speak the same about corruption.
Statistics from Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Corruption are testament to the levels of corruption in the city.
Education received the highest mark at 67.
This category considered availability of private education, quality of private education and public education indicators adapted from the World Bank.
It is clear that many private schools in Harare have the Cambridge syllabus.
They have most of the basic needs — well-equipped libraries, science and computer laboratories as well as sporting facilities.
However, these remain a preserve of the rich.
On the final category, infrastructure, Harare scored a dismal 36.
Among other things, the category looks into quality of road network, quality of public transport, quality of international links, availability of good quality housing, quality of energy provision, quality of water provision and quality of telecommunications.
There is no doubt that the quality of the major roads in the city is poor.
It goes without saying that Harare does not have a functional public transport system.
The city, like the rest of the country, has intermittent energy and water supplies.
The affluent have set up their own solar grids and boreholes.
It has to be admitted that privatisation in the last decade may have kept certain sectors going like education and healthcare.
However, public institutions have been declining.
These are public schools, public clinics and hospitals.
On water and energy, the central government is still clueless and will not have a solution in the immediate future.
It is an embarrassment that a city, where there is no war, cannot maintain roads, cannot provide water and electricity round the clock and has no efficient and affordable public transport system.
The situation is made worse by lack of functional public health facilities and public schools, let alone social amenities such as libraries and sporting facilities.
Most of the land planned for such has been sold for housing by corrupt council officials aided and abetted by senior central government officials.
Whether Mnangagwa wants to serve until 2030 or for life, the facts are indisputable that he has run the country down using objective criteria such as the EIU report.
Zimbabwe is struggling in the same basket with countries at war or deemed failed states.
The bar cannot get any lower.
The “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra has been exposed as nothing beyond a slogan.
Serious investors still see Zimbabwe as unsafe and unliveable.
That is the huge blot on Mnangagwa’s legacy that will be shared internationally and more sadly, by locals who experience dry taps and dark nights in a so-called aspiring upper-middle income country.
I’m out!
