Zimbabwe’s cyber city: Urban utopia or surveillance menace?

Image of a clubhouse in Zimbabwe’s Cyber City created by the architect. — Mulk International/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

HARARE: In a fertile stretch of fields and farms dubbed New Harare, Zimbabwe is building a high-tech “cyber city” a world away from the traffic-clogged streets and overcrowded slums of the country’s nearby capital.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, eager to highlight positive news about the country’s troubled economy, launched the first US$500mil (RM2.21bil) stage of the Zim Cyber City project last year in partnership with Dubai-based company Mulk International.