Neither the country nor the council has fared well since Communism surrendered its Cold War defeat. The once-thriving Rhodesian economy is now in deep distress. Banks have failed. Farm land that once fed the native population and produced major exports lies fallow. The country's electrical and communication systems have fallen into disrepair and are now unreliable.
Pickpockets freely roam city streets.
Gangs slash the tires of tourists' cars at rest stops and rob drivers when they get out of their cars to repair the damage. Corruption fomented by Mugabe's appointees is blatant. The prices of basic commodities have risen 30 to 70 percent between 1991 and 1997. Interest rates in 1997 soared more than 20 percent. AIDS has infected more than 38 percent of the population, and there is only one public ambulance in the city of Harare, whose population exceeds 2 million.