Last Word: Zimbabwe's Reason for Hope

With the resignation of Robert Mugabe, after 37 years of kleptocratic rule, in November 2017, it seemed that the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe might just have a future after all. My inbox began to fill up with messages from acquaintances in the country, all expressing their hope and elation. But is their optimism well-founded? Mugabe was ejected because of his intention to install his wife, Grace, in the presidential palace in his stead. The army merely preempted his move and backed its man, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to preserve the status quo. So far so gloomy. But is there no glimmer of light?

The causes for optimism stem mostly from Mnangagwa’s reputation as an economic pragmatist. He knows that safari tourism is essential to the financial future. As well as an injection of foreign hard currency, it will provide jobs for Zimbabwe’s legion of unemployed. Strangely, though, even before the dramatic events of last year, the political weather had begun to change. The most emblematic development was the decision in late 2016 by Great Plains Conservation, one of Africa’s finest safari companies, to build three new camps in Zimbabwe. (Two will be adjacent to the Mana Pools National Park in the majestic Zambezi Valley.) The new camps are expected to open in summer 2018. Perhaps we really are about to see the triumph of hope over experience.