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Subject Area: Africa-Zimbabwe
Richardson, Craig2004 0-7734-6366-6 176 pages
In the early years after its independence, Zimbabwe seemed poised to be an African success story, with its vast wealth of minerals and rich farmland, and its continued investment in education and health care. However, after the government seized wealthy commercial farmland in 2000, Zimbabwe quickly went from a place of hope to one of the grimmest places on Earth, with foreign investors fleeing, life expectancies dropping and hyperinflation looming. Despite the agricultural sector only commanding fifteen percent of the economy, this book argues that the perceived and actual lack of secure property rights caused a series of cascading and harmful economic effects throughout Zimbabwe.
Using primary data from official Zimbabwe government sources, The IMF, The World Bank and Zimbabwe’s Commercial Farmers’ Union, this book explains the mechanics of the collapse of one institution after another, including the central bank, foreign exchange markets, and the health and education sectors. It also dispels the widely held belief that a drought in 2001 led to collapsed agricultural yields, using data from Zimbabwe’s meteorological authorities to make the case. Lastly, the book uses the case study of Nicaragua, which underwent a similar collapse in the late 1980s, as a blueprint for how a country can once again prosper after paying attention to the importance of property rights. In its conclusion, the book suggests concrete policy proposals that can put Zimbabwe back on track.
Mossop, R. T.
1998 0-7734-8536-8 848 pages
Brettschneider, Marla
2023 1-4955-1067-0 344 pages
"The Jewish phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be rich and diverse. While the world has long known about the prestigious and often ancient Jewish world in North Africa, dynamic Jewish engagements below the Sahara are news to many. ...This work brings to the world stage indigenous Africans involved in Jewish communities in the region speaking for themselves. The bulk of the book consists of adaptions from recorded and transcribed conversations and interviews conducted throughout the region over nearly a decade." -Dr. Marla Brettschneider, Introduction I "All of the testimonies in this book are unique in their own ways. At the same time, however, we can detect several recurring themes running through most or all of them. To my surprise, many of the issues that they discuss are the same ones that more established Jewish communities face all over the world: the struggles to build community, to have a place to pray, to learn how pray and read from the Torah, to educate themselves and their communities, to access information, and to address economic and financial needs. Some confronted antisemitic attitudes and family rejection; others discussed the problems of community continuity, whom to marry, and how to attract new members." Dr. Bonita Nathan Sussman, Introduction II
Brettschneider, Marla
2023 1-4955-1278-9 344 pages
(SOFTCOVER EDITION) "The Jewish phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be rich and diverse. While the world has long known about the prestigious and often ancient Jewish world in North Africa, dynamic Jewish engagements below the Sahara are news to many. ...This work brings to the world stage indigenous Africans involved in Jewish communities in the region speaking for themselves. The bulk of the book consists of adaptions from recorded and transcribed conversations and interviews conducted throughout the region over nearly a decade." -Dr. Marla Brettschneider, Introduction I "All of the testimonies in this book are unique in their own ways. At the same time, however, we can detect several recurring themes running through most or all of them. To my surprise, many of the issues that they discuss are the same ones that more established Jewish communities face all over the world: the struggles to build community, to have a place to pray, to learn how pray and read from the Torah, to educate themselves and their communities, to access information, and to address economic and financial needs. Some confronted antisemitic attitudes and family rejection; others discussed the problems of community continuity, whom to marry, and how to attract new members." Dr. Bonita Nathan Sussman, Introduction II
Makwasha, Gift
2010 0-7734-3682-0 432 pages
Historical analysis of the evangelization of the Shona by both European missionaries and native evangelists examines the idea of a cross-cultural blending of Christianity and the Shona to create an Africanized Christianity. The author proposes a Christological approach where Jesus is seen as the ancestor par excellence in whom physical and spiritual needs are fulfilled.
Dube, Jimmy G.
2006 0-7734-5577-9 224 pages
This book deals primarily with the interface between religion and politics in the public square in Africa, in general, and Zimbabwe, in particular. The thesis is that Christian religion has a huge potential of democratizing the contemporary Zimbabwean social and political space. The book argues for a contextual theology that takes into serious consideration both social and political realities in the creation of democratic spaces. In Zimbabwe, the church and the school are generally the main foci of social life of the village in most communities. The absence of a strong civil society, independent press and independent judiciary system calls for the church and the school to play important roles in the construction of a democratic social and political order. Ordinary citizens interact on almost a daily basis with these two institutions on a village level.