Politics: Robert Mugabe, at Age 89, Wins Presidential Election, Again

If you've heard of the African country called Zimbabwe, you must already know that corruption and a failed economy are synonymous with it. 

Robert Mugabe, who first became the president of Zimbabwe in the year 1980, has ruled for over 30 years. The July 2013 election results have been announced, and it appears that the dictator, Mugabe, won with a 61.09% majority vote. 

One would wonder why, after over 30 years of being a president, and considering the fact that he is 89 years old - when you're supposed to rest and watch your grandchildren play while on vacation - Robert Mugabe still ran for president again. He is merely a power-hungry oppressor who has no positive legacy to leave behind when he dies.

His accomplishments - if there are any at all - cannot redeem him when his failures are outlined. I shall briefly create a list of what Mugabe has done, and what he has done. 

1) He enacted a policy of forcible dispossession of White farmers. The policy enabled a terrorist-like group called the "War Veterans", who violently threw people off their lands.

2) The farms were taken over by the war veterans, who due to incompetence, were unproductive, leading to low supply of essential foodstuffs.

3) Mugabe ordered the printing of more currency notes as a means of quashing the low-productivity-caused rising prices. Any economist will tell you that printing more money to tackle inflation is the worst idea ever.

4) Inflation Rate averaged 1189.09 percent from 1999 until 2013, reaching an all time high of 66212.00 percent in December of 2007 (www.tradingeconomics.com). You don't have to be a good economist or mathematician to know that inflation is bad even if it's at say, 5%. Then, imagine how bad it is at 66212%. I have Zimbabwean friends, and I've learned that at one time, a loaf of bread could cost 10,000,000 Zimbabwean Dollars. 

5) According to World Bank and U.N figures, average life expectancy dropped from 63 years in 1990 to 37.3 years in 2005. 

6) 83 percent of Zimbabweans live on less than $2 per day and 45 percent of the population are malnourished, according to world food program.

7) There is not enough fuel to generate electricity and the average GNI per capita is $340.

The only positive achievements associated with the Mugabe rule are:

1) Free primary education for all students, and admission into secondary school guaranteed, for all who qualified.

2) Free medical care for those with low incomes.

3) A housing law granting freehold ownership to home renters of 30 year's standing.