The Huffington Post, just like Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe that it is so fond of criticising, is living in the past.
It has just listed Harare as one of the 10 top cities in the world that “you do not want to visit in 2012”.
No problem with that. People are entitled to their opinions. But to base its argument on historical figures, and make it look like nothing has changed, is very misleading.
One of the reasons why people should not travel to Harare, it says, is that the Economist voted Harare as one of the world’s worst cities to live in. Harare, it says, is a unique study in failed fiscal policy. This was true four years ago.
Three years after the country abandoned its local currency, the Post is still talking about hyperinflation and the worthless Zimbabwe dollar, yet Harare has the lowest inflation in Southern Africa at 4.2 percent in November 2011.
While the state of the city’s roads is deplorable, what the world is being told and what is happening in Harare are two totally different things.
Non citizens who have been living in Harare even during the turmoil will do anything not to leave Zimbabwe.
A journalist who was highly critical of the country and was writing stories about how pathetic the situation was in the country, quit her job and went back to settle in the capital after she was recalled to her country.
John Legat does not agree with the Huffington Post. He says Zimbabwe is the place to be in 2012.
South African Airways is almost always fully booked by business people flocking to Harare to look for business opportunities.
Pity Nicholas Goche is sitting on Air Zimbabwe because it could also be making loads of money if it was run properly.
(28 VIEWS)
