Zimbabwe’s Economy Heads for Recession as Factories Shut

Ephraim Takavarasha sits on the sidewalk outside Johannesburg’s central bus station, wondering how long it will take him to sell his four cases of electrical sockets, mobile-phone chargers and alarm clocks when he returns to Zimbabwe.

What was once a monthly 1,200 kilometer (746 mile) trip that Takavarasha, 25, took from Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, to South Africa’s commercial hub, has become a visit every second month. Cash-strapped Zimbabweans aren’t spending, deflation has taken hold, factories are being shut and the economy is heading for recession less than a year after President Robert Mugabe, 90, was voted back into office to extend his 33 years of rule.