ABSTRACT
Zimbabwe’s Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) was launched in the beginning of 1991. Since then economic policy has changed considerably as the old import-substitution regime, which emphasised development through government interventions and controls, has been replaced by a market-oriented development strategy. The primary objective of ESAP was to improve living conditions through rapid and sustainable economic growth. To achieve this, the economy was to become more competitive and productive, which was expected to occur as liberalisation led to a recovery of investments and more efficient resource allocation (Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) 1992). The impact of structural adjustment so far can at best be described as mixed, and it is clear that the Zimbabwean economy has not yet embarked on a sustainable, high-growth process.
