I have previously written open letters to Mr. Mugabe because I find the situation in Zimbabwe unacceptable as a Pan-Africanist. I had and have no problem with the concept of land liberation. But I have been in complete dismay at the manner it which it was carried out. I was completely P.Oed over the wrecking of shanty towns by the authorities. I could continue to list the numerous problems I have with the party in power but the biggest problem right now is Mr. Mugabe.
Mr. Mugabe is 83 years old. He should have passed the banner to new leadership a long long long time ago. This long term "leadership" is at the center of the problem with Zimbabwe. It is not a government but rather a fiefdom of Mr. Mugabe and his supporters. Mugabe wants to stay in power simply because he knows full well there is nothing else for him to do when he leaves. Why is that? because HE has overseen the financial ruin of his country. Some may say that the problem is because the British have been meddling with Zimbabwe over the expulsion of the white farmers. Rubbish!
Mugabe, as a leader of the liberation movement in Africa and a contemporary of Nkrumah, Sekou Toure and other Pan-Africanists, knew full well that the British would be attempting to interfere with his new state. It was his job as leader to be sure to prepare his country and people to have life lines that did not depend upon the British. When they finally got around to land reclamation why hadn't they prepared people, by sending them to other African countries or other countries with Agriculture expertise, so that they could step in without disrupting the food supply? That's poor leadership.
Furthermore; any and everyone knows they will eventually die. Where was the plan for the new leadership? That Mugabe has been in power as long as he has been is a huge problem. The recent abductions and beatings of members of the opposition party is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Zimbabwe. Even IF the perpetrators were not members of the ruling party, the fact that there is a climate in Zimbabwe in which people think that abductions and beatings are the proper means of expressing ones political disagreements is a sad reflection on the leadership in Zimbabwe. The problem with this culture of political violence is that it doesn't stop easily. Once other groups realize that they can use violence to foist themselves into power, it becomes a free for all. We have seen how bad this stuff can get in Sierra Leonne, Liberia and The DRC to name a few.
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