A Stitch Out of Time: Africa’s Solution to the Zimbabwean Crisis

The document evaluates the Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe as a successful example of an 'African solution' to a political stalemate, while critiquing the slow pace of the diplomatic response. It highlights the agreement's goals of dividing executive power and restoring basic services, but notes that the delay in action allowed for extreme economic collapse, including hyperinflation and a cholera pandemic.

• The Global Political Agreement, mediated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and led by Thabo Mbeki, aims to resolve the political stalemate by dividing executive power between ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). This includes sharing decisions on government appointments and control over strategic organs, specifically the security apparatus.
• The agreement seeks to address systemic issues through an infrastructure of expertise focused on land redistribution, economic recovery, and the restoration of civil liberties, including freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the recovery of health and education systems.
• A significant failure of the resolution process was the lack of agility and swift action by African leaders, who prioritized 'solidarity' with Zimbabwe's leadership over addressing documented declines in democratic governance and civil liberties.
• The delay in reaching a solution coincided with a total economic implosion in Zimbabwe, characterized by hyperinflation that rose from 100,580% in January 2008 to 231 million % by the end of that year, eventually forcing the treasury to officially dollarise the economy.
• The humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe by 2009 included an estimated 4 million people requiring food aid and 60,000 people affected by a cholera pandemic, with the UNDP estimating that only one-third of the population would survive past age forty.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2009). A Stitch Out of Time: Africa’s Solution to the Zimbabwean Crisis. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-stitch-out-of-time-africas-solution-to-the-zimbabwean-crisis/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A Stitch Out of Time: Africa’s Solution to the Zimbabwean Crisis. 2009. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-stitch-out-of-time-africas-solution-to-the-zimbabwean-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A Stitch Out of Time: Africa’s Solution to the Zimbabwean Crisis |date=1 February 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-stitch-out-of-time-africas-solution-to-the-zimbabwean-crisis/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2009stitch, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A Stitch Out of Time: Africa’s Solution to the Zimbabwean Crisis}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-stitch-out-of-time-africas-solution-to-the-zimbabwean-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }