---

---

Concord Times (Freetown)

Zimbabwe: Greetings From Country (final Part)

Sulaiman Momodu

22 August 2008

---

opinion

Harare — In recent times, Zimbabwe has probably made more headlines in especially the international media than most other countries in crisis - Iraq, Darfur, Somalia et al. The question is: why?In the first part of this piece, I told you about how I got trillions of Zimbabwean dollars for just some US dollars upon arrival in Harare. Like Sierra Leone where the Leone was of great value after Independence, the Zimbabwean dollar was also of great value. So, what has gone wrong over the years from 1980 (when Zimbabwe became Independent) to date for people to be now talking in billions and trillions? In this final part of this article, I will be telling you more about the very pathetic economic situation in Zimbabwe, and will endeavour to briefly analyse the situation in land locked Zimbabwe especially for the benefit of those who may have very little knowledge of the former British colony (formerly Southern Rhodesia).Coming from Sierra Leone which has emerged from one of the most brutal conflicts in Africa, the crisis in Zimbabwe is a sharp reminder of our own past including the pre-war days when queues (to-line) and hard times were common subsequently leading to the dawn of terror. Harare is no doubt a beautiful city. But with queues for essential commodities now a common feature not to mention queues at banks and very, very long queues at Western Union as people wait for remittances, to thousands of Zimbabweans, their country is no more a beautiful and lovely place to be. "Here, it is the survival of the fittest," says one Zimbabwean. And for those who find the situation extremely unbearable, they have been fleeing the country in search of greener pastures.The truth is, after 28 years in office as president; 84-year-old Robert Mugabe is definitely hard to sell these days. In circumstances like this, the opposition tend to get more sympathy even if they also may be guilty of perpetrating torture against their opponents in their strongholds. Today, mainly as a result of what they see on television or hear on international radio stations no matter how subjective such reports might be, some people who used to regard Mugabe as a hero now see him as a villain. But if I should ask: do anti-Mugabe supporters who want him to pack and go really understand that humiliation awaits him as soon as he leaves? At least some organisations have abundantly indicated that he will be tried (and jailed?). So how do they expect Mugabe to leave office? While I do not condone anything that suppresses people, history teaches us about atrocities that were committed during colonial rule in many African countries. Let us take a brief look at South Africa. Nelson Mandela is today a world icon and I doff my hat to him - he is my hero and I idolise him. But why is Mandiba an icon? The answer is simple. Because he decided to be more human than those who imprisoned and tortured him?

In my view, if Mandela had decided to take his own pound of flesh like they did to him and his people, he would have been surely humiliated. If I may ask again: why is it that many Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders are reluctant to condemn Mugabe? If Mugabe is humiliated, it makes them also vulnerable and by extension, all African leaders.After gaining Independence in 1980 following a liberation struggle, it is clear that the Zimbabwean crisis only started making headline news over land. Like in South Africa, the whites (now citizens) control the bulk of the land - whether the redistribution of land was properly done or not is another story in itself. And then the land issue is compounded by drought and the lack of capacity to manage the agricultural sector. Let me stress that while African leaders have often failed their people, international politics itself is full of double standards. In contemporary times, many leaders including Nelson Mandela was clearly against the invasion of Iraq where there were allegedly "huge piles of weapons of mass destruction." Mandela told Bush and Blair that they were undermining the very structures that their fore fathers had put in place by going against the United Nations to wage war on Iraq. He then begged the question: Is it because the head of the United Nations is now a black man? That was when Ghanaian-born Kofi Annan was the Secretary-General of the UN. There is a lot to learn from this action. You think about it. Also, in the immediate aftermath of the Kenyan elections, the Bush Administration swiftly sent a glowing congratulatory message to incumbent President Mwai Kibaki and the Kenyan Election Commission even though the commission said it did not know who won the elections. Despite the subsequent attempt to ignore the message, the Bush administration's eagerness to embrace a flawed election speaks volumes of their interest which supersedes the clarion call for democracy. The Kenya election and the invasion of Iraq are just two examples that should let the critical African mind closely examine the situation in Zimbabwe, a country that has now befriended China. With a deep sense of pity for the suffering people of Zimbabwe, it is encouraging to see Africans including Thabo Mbeki working hard to find a solution to African problems. Against the backdrop of what I see in Zimbabwe - the queues, the shortage of food worsened by drought, the inflation and more, it is time Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara of the smaller MDC and Mugabe salvaged their country from degenerating into more crisis. Many Zimbabweans are hoping and praying for a resolution of the political crisis as a power-sharing deal continues. At this point let me state that I am staying in a 17-storey five star Rainbow Towers Hotel where the talks were earlier going on between the political stakeholders. Here, I have had the opportunity to see Mugabe as he arrived the other day in his black car - ZIM 1 for the talks. The talks were later suspended and continued in South Africa over sticking points. The issue of power-sharing is a contentious one. Depending on who you talk to, both Tsvangirai and Mugabe are blamed for the lack of a political settlement. Magabe's supporters say Tsvangirai is being remote controlled by the west and that is why he keeps on changing positions and making new demands. Tsvangirai's supporters on the other hand say Mugabe does not want to relinquish some executive powers. As all this is happening, the people continue to wallow in deprivation. Although there are some African leaders who have stayed longer in power than Mugabe (but are quiet), I think Mugabe, who contributed to the liberation of his people should strongly consider retiring from politics. More importantly, it is time for African leaders to wise up and start using Africa's resources judiciously for the good of their people. Mugabe says as long as they have tongues, they will continue talking until they find a solution. Till a political settlement is found, the hardship in Zimbabwe and other African countries all point to the fact that Africa still has a lot of work to do.

Note: The views expressed here are purely personal.

Be the first to Write a Comment!

---