I’m assuming here that I’m working in the confines of a dictaturial position to begin with, with the goal to establish a working economy, political safety and to quell the disorder.
My first step would be to divorce the military and the police entirely. While I would not cut the military spending and would retain a standing army, I would apply to the UN for Disaster Funding and lease police forces from EU countries such as the UK, Germany, France, Scandinavia and the US. Preferrably coloured personnell to as wide an extent as possible, for the sake of political expediency and avoiding the impression of re-instating “The Whites” as a ruling class.
For the military, I would introduce a 20/80% split between a volunteer, professional army and a Mandatory Service branch akin to the Scandinavian or Hungarian models. One year of service at the age of 18 (with temporary dispensation for people going into College or University) in the military, or two years in the Civil Service. People who have served their military service are ellegible to serve the country in wartime until the age of 50, while those who have elected to serve the Civil Service will be take up Civil Duties in wartime. (As in Norway, they would all be required to serve, but could opt for the Civil branch in the case of serious conscientous objections - religious or pacifism - or because of injuries preventing them from serving in a military capacity.)
The Police forces would be split between policing and establishing a series of competent police academies to train new recruits and officers from the local population, to eventually phase out. In the start-up phase, the military and the police would field joint operations to clean the field in the cities. An external political review commitee and external Police Integrity Agency would be put in place to enforce strict anti-corruption measures inside the police force.
As for the economy, macro measures would be needed. I am not an economist, but I envisage inviting external companies to establish new mining companies in the country, with the condition that the State holds a 51% share. While this is effectively socializing the industry, the State needs to aquire capital and the companies would be offered low-tax incentives for their share of the profit.
The next step after that would be for the state to reclaim agricultural lands in its entirety and repartition it to make sure that it is in the hands of skilled farmers and not political shills. Outside competence would be welcome in setting up agricultural schools for the new generation, subsidized so entry and enrollment would be free for people from an agricultural background. The goal is to ensure competent drift while creating an educated farming population.
One of the main conditions for setting up a farming economy would be ensuring the safety of people working in such conditions. This would mean extensive use of police or military personnel to maintain order in the countryside, which is opening a big can of worms and crow. I’ve only been to Zimbabwe once - in 2006 - but many of the people there told me tha they were hoping for something along the lines of Hitler’s Autobahn project; makework to keep the unemployed with food, shelter and money while working on something that would better both the economy and the infrastructure. So I imagine I would also start a similiar project, putting unemployed people without resources or the background to go into farming, to work on the roads and railroads. “Hands busy, fed and reasonably happy” was the term, I believe.
Once a degree or self-suppliance of food is established, I would start to go to work on the economy. While I would be happy to nationalize the natural resources, I don’t imagine I would have the capital or competence to manage it optimally so outside companies would have to be brought in.
Once both the agriculture and a working economy is in place, medical facilities and schools would be next. Higher education would for the time being be reserved for those with some financial means - the state cannot afford to subsidize such entirely without a large amount of capital. (It’s true that since I’m already dreaming, I might as well extend it to having a large enough capital to establish a for-all school system, but one has to be realistic about at least some things)
For the schools, I envisage a 6-year education from the ages of 9-15 to start with. Children would optimally start learning their parents’ tradecraft while younger and would go right into work afterwards. Workplaces would be given incentives to pay towards a college fund for workers, so that after around 8 years, a worker could choose to go to college or free up the money to establish a business for himself. This would be a mandatory flat fee from the workplaces in lieu of lower taxes and would carry over from workplace to workplace.
For the medical system, I would first invite in whatever medical agencies who could set up emergency centres in the cities and rural centres. After the military has stepped down and the police have stepped up to maintain safety in the cities, I would give incentives to the doctors and other health personnell who have learned the language to stay and help set up and man hospitals and education centres for nurses and doctors. While doctors would be a net import for many years, this would be a high priority to ensure expedient treatment. I would also attempt to set up treaties with the neighboring states with more stable healthcare to get doctor and nurse ministration forays around the countryside near the borders.
Of course, being a white governor in Africa would have a range of political problems. A problem for which I’m having a hard time coming up with any solutions, to be honest.