Zimbabwe continues to be the country with the most amazing economy not only in Africa but in the world. After numerous currency experiments and redistribution of property, the state found itself in a budget crisis. By the end of January, he had only $217 left at his disposal. To squeeze the treasury almost dry, the government only needed to pay salaries to public sector employees.

According to the adopted budget, Zimbabwe's government spending this year was expected to be US$3.8 billion. However, the money ran out by the end of the first month. Last week, the government made payments (which generally happens infrequently) to public sector employees. Exactly how much was transferred to them is not reported, but state finances were unable to do this task.

According to the country's Finance Minister Tendai Biti, some civil servants had more money in their bank accounts than in the treasury. But this, in general, is not surprising - high-ranking officials in Zimbabwe are corrupt, perhaps more than in any other state.

There is nothing special to replenish the budget with, since taxes are practically not collected in Zimbabwe. 80 percent of the population does not have a job ─ accordingly, and there is nothing to take from them. The food situation in a country once famous for its agriculture is close to critical. Zimbabwe is dependent on supplies from abroad, and what does not come in the form of humanitarian aid has to be purchased. As a result, a lot of money is wasted from the budget simply for food distribution.

Tendai Biti Photo: Philimon Bulawayo / Reuters

All this means that the government's political initiatives are under threat. In March this year, Zimbabwe is due to hold a referendum on the constitution, which, among other things, will set the terms of office for the president. The current head of the country, 86-year-old Robert Mugabe, however, will be able to rule for two more terms, regardless of the voting results. But in any case, there is no money to hold an event designed to strengthen democracy in the country.

Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission says the government needs $104 million. At first glance, not so much even by Zimbabwean standards. However, no one expected such expenses in the first month of the year. Therefore, Biti has already directly stated that the country cannot cope with the referendum on its own and that international assistance is required to implement the budget (at least on this item).

Although African countries have never been particularly rich, the situation in Zimbabwe has not always been so desperate. After the 1980 revolution, the Zanu-PF party, led by its leader Robert Mugabe, came to power in the country. The previous government, mainly consisting of white Rhodesians (Southern Rhodesia was the official name of Zimbabwe until the 1980s), was forced to give in, also under pressure from the international community, since Mugabe was perceived as a freedom fighter, which, however, did not stop him enjoy Chinese political support.

At first, things went well for Mugabe. Developed agriculture and the presence of mineral resources led to an economic boom in the 1980s and 1990s. Among the countries in the region, Zimbabwe was one of the leaders. Everything changed in the late 1990s, when, under pressure from veterans of the “liberation” war, the permanent ruler decided to carry out land redistribution. Much of the country's agricultural land was farmed by white farmers, who had been viewed with suspicion since the fall of the previous regime.

Naturally, the confiscation of their lands from a political point of view turned out to be a win-win option. But economically it was a failure. The expelled farmers were forced to emigrate to the USA, South Africa, Australia and even Nigeria, but it turned out that the new owners did not have the experience and skills of their predecessors to a small extent. Productivity began to fall, and less and less food came to market. Within just a few years, Zimbabwe has transformed from the breadbasket of southern Africa into a country entirely dependent on external supplies.

Further ─ more. The Zimbabwean authorities learned nothing from the failure of agricultural reform, and they continued to experiment. In the late 2000s, the state, struggling with a crisis of non-payments throughout the economy, decided to turn on the printing press. The result was predictable - inflation reached 218 million (!) percent per year, breaking the records of the Weimar Republic and Hungary in the 1920s. The authorities simply did not have time to invent and print new banknotes, since the old ones became rubbish within weeks or even days. In the end, the government gave up on this matter and abolished the Zimbabwean dollar altogether, introducing the US dollar as the national currency. This stopped inflation, but the economy did not get any better.

Trying to somehow find funds, Harare launched a new wave of nationalization and redistribution of property. This time we were talking about mining companies. For example, platinum Impala sold a majority stake in its Zimbabwean subsidiary Zimplats Holdings to members of the black majority. Another option was to transfer the asset to a state fund. Mugabe announced that in the future all foreigners should transfer controlling stakes to the state or Zimbabweans.

The sale of diamonds, which is already controlled by the government, also does not bring results. The money does not go to the budget, but is simply stolen. Over the past two years, Mugabe's entourage has pocketed some $2 billion from this business.

In general, Mugabe’s efforts to reshape the country’s economic system are of no use. The crisis of non-payments due to an empty treasury is a logical continuation of the disasters that have befallen the state. However, there is still hope that Zimbabwe will not be allowed to completely sink. Finance Minister Biti, speaking of foreign aid, has in mind a very specific interest of foreigners.

The fact is that Zimbabwe is unusually rich in rare earth metals, which are in increasing demand on the world market. That's because China, which produces 97 percent of the total, has significantly reduced exports in recent years. The Chinese economy increasingly requires more lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and other rare mineral resources to produce electronic equipment, particularly solar cells. Buyers of metals ─ primarily the USA and Japan ─ are extremely unhappy with this state of affairs.

In this regard, the capture of Zimbabwe's resources provides an opportunity either for China to strengthen its dominance in the market, or for the United States and other countries to move away from rigid dependence on Beijing. Therefore, there is no doubt that both sides will make every effort to win the Zimbabwean government to their side, including through preferential loans and various assistance at the public and private level. So Harare will still have the opportunity to replenish its empty coffers and continue its unorthodox economic policies.

Lenta.ru: Economics: Empty bins