What Happens After Mugabe?

Book excerpt: After 25 years in power, Robert Mugabe is under increasing pressure to step down and allow democratic reform in Zimbabwe. Amnesty International rates the country among the worst for torture and abuse of human rights, the Commonwealth has suspended Zimbabwe's membership, and even in Africa there is growing outrage at what some see as a rogue state. In the past five years, millions of words have been written about the tragedy -- including more than a dozen books -- but few have focused on what might happen when freedom comes. As things stand, schools and hospitals have collapsed, a third of the population lives in exile and 3 000 people die of AIDS every week. Once Africa's second-biggest exporter of food, 70 per cent of the country lives under conditions of famine in the wake of violent land reform. What will it take to rebuild Zimbabwe? This gripping, incisive book discusses many relevant issues and asks serious questions, including: - Will 4 million exiles go home to a country with 80 per cent unemployment? - Should there be war-crimes trials? - Can the economy be revived? -Where will the billions of dollars come from that are needed to put things right? What Happens After Mugabe is meticulously researched, with material drawn from hundreds of interviews inside Zimbabwe and among exile communities in Britain, the US and South Africa.