Only winner from migration of professionals is Mugabe

The Zimbabwean president has smashed his own noble legacy of a true black African middle class and the country's only real hope is that they decide to return

If you are unlucky enough to end up under the wheels of a London bus, the chances are it will be a black Zimbabwean nurse who tends to your battered body as you lie in your hospital bed.

For the first 20 years of his rule, Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, engineered a quiet revolution, creating Africa's first true black middle class of well-educated professionals. Then he destroyed it.

In spite of its self-engineered economic crisis, Zimbabwe still has the highest literacy rate on the continent, having recently taken the top slot from Tunisia, the UN Development Programme says. Medical graduates from its universities are welcome anywhere in the world, as are its teachers and technicians.

Much of the credit should go to Mr Mugabe. The former schoolteacher turned revolutionary recognised early that Zimbabwe's future depended on a broadly educated population. That he eventually chose to undo what would have been a fine legacy is tragic.

For much of Mr Mugabe's rule, the economy grew on an average of 4.5 per cent, fuelled by agriculture, mining and a fast-expanding service sector. UN figures show per capita GDP rose from US$1,330 (Dh4,884) at the time Mr Mugabe took office in 1980, to $2,600 at the turn of the century, when Zimbabwe's self-immolation began.

In 2000, he supported land grabs by his supporters, driving white commercial farmers from their property. It was a move designed to shore up his waning popularity.

After two decades of unbroken rule the reigning ZanuPF party was out of ideas. It also faced a drubbing in looming elections. Ironically, the newly emergent black urban professionals that Mr Mugabe helped to create were especially likely to vote for the opposition.

A new generation, the so-called born frees who entered the world after liberation, was coming of age. And thanks to the fine education system, they were unlikely to vote according to tribal alliances or be swayed by the stale revolutionary war rhetoric the ruling party likes to employ.

The temporary boost to Mr Mugabe's popularity was soon eclipsed by the economic disaster that befell the country. By 2005, inflation was running at more than 2 million per cent and Zimbabwe had to import food for the first time in decades.

It was the plight of white farmers that drew global focus as the country degenerated from breadbasket to basket case. Black professionals began to flee in droves.

Zimbabwe's army, one of the finest in Africa, was decimated by the loss of its officers, many finding better paid jobs as security guards in neighbouring South Africa.

Medical professionals were welcomed in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Teachers, lawyers and engineers found their skills easily transferable across national boundaries.

By 2006, 50 per cent of all professionals had left, according to the Zimbabwean government's own estimates. This has surely grown in the interim. Numbers are hard to come by but analysts broadly agree that about 3 million, or a quarter of the population, have fled the country to date.

But while their skills are lost to Zimbabwe, their earning power is not. Remittances to Zimbabwe now run at $1 billion from exiles in Britain alone, the UN estimates.

In a sense, it was a double victory for Mr Mugabe. He has rid himself of the uppity middle class urbanites who threatened his rule, but they continue to bankroll his dictatorship through the money they send home to relatives.

Their loss to the country remains huge, in spite of the cash they remit. The civil service is a shadow of its former self, having lost almost all its skilled technocrats. About 45,000 teachers, the genesis of the middle-class revolution, have left the country, according to Zimbabwean government figures. Only about 7,000 remain.

Hospitals remain so in name only, with few doctors and nurses to tend the sick.

Zimbabwe, which once could claim to be the Singapore of Africa, has now reverted to a country of peasant farmers. Until the exiles see fit to return, little will change.

business@thenational.ae

City's slump

L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1

Tips for job-seekers

Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

Where to buy art books in the UAE

There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.

In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.

In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.

In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.

Company%20Profile

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Company%20Profile

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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Business Insights

As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
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On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

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HWJN

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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language

2018: Formal work begins
November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
November 2024: All 127 volumes completed

Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years

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Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.