In his funeral speech of Vice President Joseph Msika, Mugabe lashes at the West for trying to “divide” the nation and re-colonise Zimbabwe.
"Shiri yoga yoga inemaririro ayo!" so goes the Shona saying. Every bird species has its own call. Every time Mugabe opens his gab at Heroes’ Acre or some such occasion, he has denounced the West, especially the British. He did just that at Msika’s burial on Monday; nothing has changed.
The people believed all this anti-West rhetoric at first but over the years it has started to sound empty, shallow and devoid of truth. In the last few years most people have seen the rhetoric for the nonsense it is. Even the ardent Mugabe supporters have stopped repeating, parrot style, the total nonsense Mugabe has been saying.
For example, for years Mugabe has blamed Zimbabwe’s economic melt down on the “illegal sanctions” the West imposed on him and his cronies. And yet when MDC ended the price controls, scrapped the Z$ and thus shut down Gono’s money printing crazy that was fuelling the hyper inflation, and implement a few other common sense economic reforms the national economy was totally transformed. Within weeks the empty shops filled with food and other goods, the run away inflation was reined in. The targeted sanctions are still in place and thus proving it was the stupid Zanu PF policies not the sanctions that were causing the shortages, inflation, etc.
However, after three decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption, scrapping the misguided economic policies was not enough to get the Zimbabwe economy back on track. The country needs US$ 8 to 10 billion according to the GNU to do that. Zimbabwe is broke and does not have that kind of money; none does any of its African and Mugabe’s “look East” friends. So in June Mugabe sent Tsvangirai to the dreaded West, begging for financial aid. The West sent Tsvangirai back home with not a penny in his begging bowl!
Whilst in the West; Tsvangirai had done his best selling the GNU as a fresh and democratic beginning for Zimbabwe. The reality on the ground told a different story; a story of a lawlessness and Mugabe flexing his tyrannical muscles. The West told Tsvangirai they will not bankroll Mugabe’s dictatorship and until there is real democratic change in Zimbabwe they will not give the country any financial aid.
Mugabe was lucky to have a feeble leader like Morgan Tsvangirai as his political opponent; he has bullied and out witted Tsvangirai into accepting whatever he, Mugabe, wanted. Tsvangirai should really be back in his rural home herding goats –no disrespect intended – because he does not have the foggiest idea of what he is doing and is quite contend to be Mugabe’s acolyte and errant-boy. And, unfortunately it is the ordinary Zimbabweans who have paid dearly for Tsvangirai’s many political blunders.
The thing is, Mugabe really believed he could hoodwink the West as easily as he did Tsvangirai. The West was not fooled; they could see the GNU just a Mugabe dictatorship by another name!
Getting food and other goods in the shops, end the run away inflation, etc. was the ease bit. Getting the economy back on track and creating jobs for the 90% unemployed is the difficult part; and without financial assistance, it is near impossible! Mugabe knows that.
"Our detractors,” Mugabe vented his anger at the West for sending back Tsvangirai empty handed, “the same old detractors continue with their sinister efforts to divide us."
The only thing that is clearly “sinister” here is a leader who signs a power sharing agreement, with no intention of honouring it, to con others into bankrolling his selfish political agenda – to remain in power at all cost. The West is under no legal or moral obligation to give Zimbabwe a single penny, even if GNU was indeed “working and is irreversible” as Tsvangirai claims. As things are, the West has a moral duty to the ordinary Zimbabweans not to prop up a dictatorship that has brought so much suffering and misery to them.
Mugabe has always treated Tsvangirai with disgust and contempt and only agreed to GNU because he believed the West will give Tsvangirai lots and lots of money! After six months of patiently waiting, Mugabe has now realised there will NO Indian style dowry for his bride, “chamatama” – big cheeks – Tsvangirai, as Mugabe called Tsvangirai. Mugabe set out to con the West and ended up being conned himself; a conman; conned! No wander Mugabe is in a huff!
So will Mugabe consummate the political marriage, finally after six months of dilly dallying, or will he kick chamatama out? Frankly, the people of Zimbabwe would be better off if the later happened because then they will have another chance to vote Mugabe out of power. This Mugabe dominated GNU will never deliver the economic recovery the people are after and therefore demise of the regime can not happen soon enough!
Mugabe will step up the empty anti-Western rhetoric with renewed vigour and rapture born out of one desperate to be heard but know they are being totally ignored; the haunting cry of an owl in the dead on night. When Mugabe sent Tsvangirai to the West, the very people he has despised all these years with such venom and passion, it was the ultimate in “eating humble pie”. When the West send Tsvangirai back empty handed it was a kick in the teeth for Mugabe!
Pride comes before the fall. Zimbabwe’s economic collapse and political descent into lawless thuggery under Mugabe’s leadership has been spectacular- the full story is yet to be told. The scene was set for Mugabe’s own fall from a respected national liberation hero and great statesman to a ruthless and heartless despot whose own people hated and despised him in equal measure.
Mugabe has so much of his past he does not want known and he can only be sure it remains hidden if he stays in power. On the other hand he also knows the human suffering and misery his failed rule has caused will continue as long as he remains in office. The pressure for him to go will only get worse with each passing day. There is a man who must feel well and truly corned and unwanted; so much so he must wish he dropped dead only that it seems for once even undiscerning death too does not want him!
No comments:
Post a Comment