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The economy shrank by 50% between 2000 and 2007. Zimbabwe's annual inflation, already the highest in the world, jumped to 11.27 million percent in June 2008 from 2.2 million the previous month according to figures released this week by the Central Statistical Office.

Frequent power and water outages have become a staple part of life in Zimbabwe. Harare's drinking water became unreliable in 2006 and therefore dysentery and cholera swept the city in December 2006 and January 2007.

Unemployment rates are now formally placed at 80%.

Opponents of the regime suggest that widespread famine has been caused by ill considered land reform programs and the sustained use of food as a political weapon. Most recently, supplies of bread have dried up, after a poor wheat harvest, and the closure of all bakeries.
The ministry of agriculture has also blamed power shortages for the wheat shortfall, stating that electricity cuts have affected irrigation and halved crop yields. Power shortages are attributed in part to Zimbabwe's reliance on Mozambique for a significant amount of its electricity. Following an unpaid bill of $35 million, Mozambique had reduced the amount of electrical power supplied to Zimbabwe.

It is estimated that 3,500 Zimbabweans die each week from a unique convergence of poverty, malnutrition and AIDS. This is a tragic indictment of a country which until recently was held up as the “breadbasket of Southern Africa.”

Zimbabwe's history: Key dates

The struggle for independence, power and land run through Zimbabwe's post-colonial history. Below is an at-a-glance guide to some of the key events:

November 1965: Ian Smith, the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, rejects British conditions for independence and makes a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The move is not recognized by the British government who announced a full-range of sanctions including cessation of British aid to and preferential treatment for Rhodesia, banning the import of Rhodesian tobacco and recalling the British High Commissioner. Sanctions were also imposed by US and the Smith government condemned by the United Nations (UN). The African nationalist Zapu and Zanu parties take up arms against the regime and African guerrilla groups are involved in clashes with Rhodesian security forces, who after 1967 are backed by South African forces.



December 1966: Rhodesia leaves the Commonwealth



May 1970: Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a Republic.



August 1975: Constitutional settlement talks take place without success. Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe agree a joint position in the Patriotic Front.



September 1976: The Smith government agrees that black majority rule will be introduced within two years following meetings with the British and American governments.



August 1977: The Smith government claim victory at General election.



April 1979: The Patriotic Front boycotts elections held under a new constitution.



December 1979: A Constitutional Conference convened in Lancaster House, London, is attended by Patriotic Front leaders and reaches agreement on a new constitution, transitional arrangements and a ceasefire. A British-appointed governor, Lord Soames, is given full authority for a transitional period.



March 1980: After elections the new State of Zimbabwe becomes legally independent. Robert Mugabe becomes prime minister of a coalition government, with Rev. Canaan Banana in the largely ceremonial role of president.



March 1983: Joshua Nkomo flees Zimbabwe to escape death threats following factional differences between the former guerrillas and growing tensions between Nkomo and Robert Mugabe. Unrest involving Pro-Nkomo dissidents in Matabeleland prompts the deployment in 1983 and 1984 of thousands of the notorious fifth brigade into the area, who are subsequently accused of atrocities during Gukurahundi. The situation eventually improves when Mr Mugabe and Mr Nkomo sign a unity agreement in 1988.



December 1987: Robert Mugabe becomes Zimbabwe's first executive president, replacing Canaan Banana who retires as ceremonial president.



April 1990: Robert Mugabe wins presidential elections and his Zanu-PF party wins a majority in parliament.



1995 and 1996: Robert Mugabe wins two further elections in respectively.



March 1997: the government is accused of misusing funds intended for veterans of the independence struggle.



July 1997: It is discovered that Zimbabwe has sold weapons, supplies, and soldiers to support new leader Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is estimated that Zimbabwe has transferred US$200 million in goods to Kabila.



November 1997: Mr Mugabe announces an acceleration of the land resettlement programme, saying private white farmers will not be fully compensated, and suggesting the UK assist them. A list of more than 1,000 targeted properties is published.



December 1997: The government agrees to pay Z$2.5 billion to nearly 50,000 war veterans, with a lump sum payment of Z$50,000 plus monthly installments of Z$2,000 for the rest of their lives. The struggling economy collapses soon thereafter. New taxes to finance these cause strikes and demonstrations. Morgan Tsvangirai, a trade union leader, is attacked in his office by unknown assailants. Amidst the strike, Mugabe agrees to.



January 1998: Riots break out in Harare and other cities in after steep food price rises. The army is deployed to stop them and some 800 people are arrested.



September 1999: The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is founded by Trade Unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.



February 2000: a referendum is held on a draft constitution proposed by the government. Among its elements, the new constitution would have permitted President Mugabe to seek two additional terms in office, granted government officials immunity from prosecution, and authorised government seizure of white-owned land. The referendum was handily defeated. Shortly thereafter, the government, through a loosely organised group of war veterans, sanctioned an aggressive land redistribution program often characterised by forced expulsion of white farmers and violence against both farmers and farm employees.



June 2000: Parliamentary elections are marred by localised violence, claims of electoral irregularities and government intimidation of opposition supporters. The MDC secures 57 of 120 seats in the National Assembly.



February 2002: In the run up to the Presidential election, Morgan Tsvangirai is accused of Treason, following allegations of an assassination plot.



March 2002: Mugabe wins Presidential election amidst wide spread allegations of electoral rigging, intimidation, violence, the use of food as a political weapon. The government's behavior drew strong criticism from the EU and the USA, which imposed limited sanctions against the leading members of the Mugabe regime.



June 2003: Tsvangirai is arrested on allegations of inciting violence at a press conference following comments that "From Monday, June 2, up to today June 6, Mugabe was not in charge of this country. He was busy marshaling his forces of repression against the sovereign will of the people of Zimbabwe. However, even in the context of the brutalities inflicted upon them, the people's spirit of resistance was not broken. The sound of gunfire will never silence their demand for change and freedom.”



October 2004: Tsvangirai is acquitted of Treason charges at Harare's High Court. However, the sting operation crippled Tsvangirai's control of party affairs and raised questions about his competence, catalyzing a major split within the MDC.



April 2005: Mugabe wins Presidential elections amidst widespread accusations of electoral fraud, violence, intimidation and the use of food as a political weapon.



May 2005: Operation Murambatsvina, meaning Operation drive out the filth, is launched across the country. The United Nations suggests that 700,000 people have lost their homes as they were forced into rural areas.



September 2005: Mugabe signs constitutional amendments that reinstituted a national senate abolished in 1987 and the nationalization of land.



November 2005: Disagreements surrounding Senate elections bring the final split of the MDC into two factions, led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube who was later to stand aside for Arthur Mutambara.



The early months of 2006 were marked by food shortages and mass hunger. The sheer extremity of the situation was revealed by the fact that in the courts, state witnesses said they were too weak from hunger to testify.



August 2006 run away inflation forces the government to replace its existing currency with a revalued one.



December 2006, ZANU-PF proposes the "harmonisation" of the parliamentary and presidential election scheduled in 2010; the move is seen by the opposition as an excuse to extend Mugabe's term as president until 2010.



March 2007: Civil Society, Church Leaders and Opposition Members, including Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, are beaten and many arrested at a prayer rally organized by the Save Zimbabwe Coalition. The events cause an international outcry.



June 2007: The government imposes price freezes in all shops to halt runaway inflation. This results in the bankruptcy of many businesses going and extreme shortages of staples supplies, including food sources.



September 2007: The Pope accepts the resignation of Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, following allegations of an affair with a Parishioner.



October 2007: Zimbabwe's bakeries shut down and supermarkets warn that they have no bread for the foreseeable future.



On December 4 2007, The United States impose travel sanctions against 38 people with ties to President Mugabe because they have "played a central role in the regime's escalated human rights abuses.”



On December 8, 2007, Mugabe attends a meeting of EU and African leaders in Lisbon, prompting UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to decline to attend. While German PM Angela Merkel criticized Mugabe with her public comments, the leaders of other African countries offer him statements of support.



January 2008: Talks regarding changes to media, security and election laws between Zanu (PF) and the MDC, mediated by President Mbeki of South Africa, break down and Mugabe unilaterally calls for a snap election in March.



5th February 2008: Simba Makoni of Zanu (PF) party and ex-finance minister announces his candidacy for the presidential elections. This is one of the first challenges from within Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party.



29th March 2008: dual parliamentary and presidential elections take place



2nd May 2008: ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) frinally anniounces the result of the March elections after a five week delay. MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai wins 47.9% of the vote and Zanu (PF)'s Robert Mugabe wins 43.2%. Tsvangirai's lead is short of the necessary 50% to avoid a run-off election.



4th June 2008: Nicholas Goche of Zanu (PF) announces a ban on all NGO activity, accusing them of campaigning for the opposition.



27th June 2008: the run-off Presidential election takes place. MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdraws at the last minute, boycotting the election in protest of the violent crimes being conducted against his supporters by government-sponsored militiamen. Mugabe's win is disputed by many organisations, such as the UN and AU, and African countries such as Kenya, Zambia…



1st July 2008: Mugabe attends an AU Summit held in Egypt, to the protest of some heads of government who believe this is tantamount to accepting the June election result of Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe



2th July 2008: China and Russia veto a UN resolution to impose harsh sanctions on the Mugabe regime.



21st July 2008: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed by Zanu (PF)'s Mugabe and the leaders of the two MDC factions, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, which will set out conditions to be met while power-sharing negotiations take place between the parties, which will be mediated by SADC-appointed Mbeki, President of South Africa.



24th July 2008: Power-sharing talks commence



1st August 2008: Amid the economic meltdown, Gideon Gono, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, announces the decision to cut 10 zero's from the currency in an effort to halt runaway inflation. Inflation rates are officially placed at 2 million per cent but independent economists believe it to be nearer 12 million per cent in reality.



16th August 2008: The regional SADC body meets in South Africa, in which the expected results of Zimbabwe power-sharing talks constitute the main subject under consideration. Despite the 2-week deadline intended for a deal to be struck following the signing of the MoU, no agreement has been reached. Botswana's President, Ian Khama, is a notable absentee as he refuses to attend in protest over lenient treatment of Mugabe.

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