Economic figures suffer from valuation problems because of devaluation of the currency, lack of internal controls and the large size of the black market. This has hampered the collection of government revenue and has led to large budget deficits. Government taxes on exports and price-fixing in the agricultural sector have kept production levels low. In addition, declining mineral prices and lack of internal investment have made it difficult to expand the mining sector. Civil war in the 1990's has closed most of the mines and curtailed official cross-border trade.
Future development can only proceed with an end to the hostilities in the country.
The drain on finances, the spread of a parallel market, the loss of confidence by foreign companies, and the wasted human resources have destroyed any hope of short term improvement for the people left in the country.