Geneva: just short of perfect, says the Economist Intelligence Unit
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva and Zurich are not among the 10 most liveable cities in the world, according to the annual survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), although they do rank 11 and 12, with scores over 95 percent. Vancouver, Canada holds the top slot for the fifth year in a row with 98 percent.
But to say the Swiss cities are not faring badly in the survey “is an understatement in extreme,” Jon Copestake, editor of the report published 21 February told GenevaLunch. “The top tier of liveability is any city with a score of over 80 percent. Geneva and Zurich achieve scores well over this and less than 5 percent below a perfect score.”
The only weakness they might have may “relate to cultural availability—the availability of good quality theatre, music or sports events compared to larger cities,” Copestake notes.
Vancouver a breath away from perfect
Vancouver had an unchanged score in the annual rankings: 98, based on an assessment of 30 factors that include stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. A score of 100 would make a city “perfect” whereas a 1 would render it “intolerable”.
Harare, Zimbabwe is at the other extreme of the scale from Vancouver. The report notes that it “is the lowest-scoring city at just 37.5%. Despite celebrating 30 years of independence in April 2010, the situation remains challenging across all indicators. Despite hopes of elections in 2011, stability and healthcare scores of just 25% and 20.8% respectively highlight a bleak situation.”
The EIU survey is one of two widely regarded reports that are designed to help companies determine compensation packages for employees working abroad. The other is the Mercer “quality of living” report where Zurich and Geneva ranked second and third in 2010.
How and where liveability thrives
City Mayors in February 2010 ran an article about the previous year’s EIU survey where it noted that 8 of the top 10 cities are in English-speaking countries. [italics theirs] “The EIU report, which describes the concept of liveability as simple, is written for business people from western countries and used to work out hardship allowances as part of an expatriate’s relocation package. The report’s authors say that the survey quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide. Seen from such a western perspective, it is therefore not suprising that the survey’s lowest ranked cities are all in developing countries.”
Copestake told GenevaLunch that the English-speaking factor should be kept in perspective: “The top 10 is largely English speaking because it is largely made up of cities from two countries—Canada and Australia.” Both have very specific conditions that help liveability thrive, he points out. “They have mid-sized cities, large distances between cities and a low overall population density. As developed world locations this lends itself to liveability—they have a developed infrastructure which is not overburdened with people but are large enough locations to support a strong cultural availability.
“This is also a contributory factor for the reason Swiss cities do well. If the information was sorted by country it would be that only 3 of the top 10 countries are English speaking,” a much lower indication of bias, says Copestake.
China’s foreign minister, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, is in Zimbabwe for the start of a five-nation Africa visit expected to bolster growing Chinese-African ties. The visit to the country run by President Robert Mugabe for more than 30 years is flaming controversy again over China’s support for the government that is the target of Western sanctions: China came in for harsh criticism from the European Union and the USA in 2008 when it protected Zimbabwe from tough United Nations sanctions.
Relations between China and Zimbabwe pre-date 1981 independence but in recent years, as China’s economic strength has grown, it has become an important investor, with plans for the China Development Bank to spend $10 billion in 2011, Zimbabwe authorities have said. Unconfirmed rumours are flying in Zimbabwe that China will take over the country’s precious platinum reserves as part of the deal, but a more likely arrangement appears to be a loan that will be repaid partly from the reserves.
Unrest continues in Zimbabwe, with street protests in recent days reportedly leading to beatings by Mugabe’s party members, with anti-Mugabe SW Africa radio saying the clashes were ordered by the government minister for youth.
Links to other sites: allAfrica, BBC, Voice of America, Xinhua, the Zimbabwean
Tsvangirai says the country should keep its distance
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ‘s visit to Harare, Zimbabwe met with a cheering Zanu-PF party welcome at the airport, while Morgan Tsvangirai’s shared government party, Movement for Democratic Change, has criticized the Iranian leader’s state visit. Ahmadinejad is officially opening the Zimbabwe International Agricultural Fair in Bulawayo. Iran has invested heavily in agriculture and textile projects in Zimbabwe. The two presidents this week signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint company to develop industry and energy projects in Zimbabwe.
Links to other sites: AllAfrica/the Herald (official newspaper), Independent, UK, Morning Star, UK
South African President Jacob Zuma is in Harare, Zimbabwe today 27 August to meet with members of Zimabwe’s unity government and to convey South African displeasure with the lack of progress in implementing an agreement between President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU party and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Morgan Tsvangirai. He is conveying a message from the South African ruling party ANC, African National Congress, that criticizes Mugabe for his “adolescent and deviant” behaviour. Discord between the two sides in Zimbabwe’s government has left ministerial posts unfilled, and some MDC members of parliament are still in jail. There are rumours that Mugabe is ill and being treated in a clinic in Dubai. He has not been seen in public since Tuesday 19 August. AllAfrica, Mail&Guardian,The Times
London, England (Economist Intelligence Unit) – The annual Economist liveability survey of 140 cities worldwide ranks Vancouver in first place with an almost perfect 98 score out of 100. There are four European cities among the top 10. Vienna is in second place, Helsinki in seventh, just ahead of eighth-tied Geneva, Sydney and Zurich.
Susan Tsvangirai, the wife of Zimbabwe’s prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, was dead at the scene of a crash that has put her husband in hospital in “stable” condition. The pair were traveling to a rally 60km from the capital, Harare, reports Al Jazeera, when they were hit by a “haulage truck” whose driver appears to have fallen asleep at the wheel. The couple were married for 31 years and have six children, says the wire service. The BBC notes that traffic accidents are common in Zimbabwe, where vehicles are often in poor shape and speeding and drink driving are common.
