Why Zimbabwe Shamed US All

Source from:  Financial Gazette (Harare) January 11, 2006 Ken Mufuka 01/16/2006

AS I have tried to show, the Zimbabwean land issue had nothing to do with production or farming. The involvement of war veterans in 1999 in the Sosve area started when a white farmer refused to allow tribespeople to bury their loved ones in a sacred burial ground on his farm. In this particular case, the government supported the white farmer, but soon realised that the issue was explosive and that the war veterans could be harnessed against it in the upcoming election. In my belief, it was the treacherous Jonathan Moyo who tied land to the economy as a political paradigm. President Robert Mugabe's rule exemplifies the political paradigm that imperialists have no friends, only permanent interests, and that African leaders fail to grasp this truth at their own expense. In my opinion, the old man is already history, and for the reason that while dealing with the treachery of the imperialists on one side, he failed to mind his economy. I will give only one example here. Patrick Bond and Masimba Manyanya have provided almost an exact date for the plunge in their masterpiece entitled Zimbabwe Plunge. "Mugabe was a darling of the West, not for his erudite English, or his impeccable suits and a rose on his lapel. The secret is that the Lancaster agreement carried over two conditions: one, carrying over white property rights as is and, the other, carrying over international debts from the Smith regime." Sooner or later, combined with his own new debts, in 1998 the World Bank came to collect its pound of flesh, a cool U$870 million or the equivalent of 38 percent of export revenue. His own profligate style of government, called Huya Tidye in Karanga, was partly to blame. His cronies looted, starting with the Willowgate scandals, the Housing Fund for Veterans, the War Veterans Fund, and a host of other worthwhile schemes. Unless one understands this theory, kudya (in black English called big eating), one will miss the bitterness of the war veterans and people like President Canaan Banana. President Mugabe's opponents say that the inner circle were allowed to eat till they vomited. That is why 50 000 veterans threatened civil war and were granted, against all advice by international bankers, the Z$50 000 gratuity and subsequent salaries of Z$2 000 per month each. On of November 14 1997, the Zimbabwe dollar lost 75 percent of its value. The rest is history. President Mugabe also made another fatal mistake. It was not the war in the Congo: it was the fact that his intention there was to forestall US influence. The European imperialists and the US had decided to redraw the Congo map, allowing for a pro-Western zone in the platinum-rich east central region. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni sent troops to the Congo, but on the right side, and remains largely a darling of the West. The World Bank suspended its balance of payments support. Here is the juicy part. The World Bank is not interested in paying war veterans, though there are technical problems as well. Chenjerai Hunzvi, the late leader of the veterans, was himself cooling out in Poland during the war. In 1980, there were 40 000 veterans. In 1997, there were 50 000 qualifying for remuneration, after some had died in the intervening years. President Mugabe is correct in saying that the imperialists supported his enemies. By the end of the century, the imperialists had identified young blood inside Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU PF party itself, and when these were afraid to break off, young blood was identified outside the party. With all the foreign exchange generating industries destroyed, the tourist industry, the tobacco industry, the manufacturing industry, the transport industry and the mining industries placed in a cooling-off period, the old man literally ran out of money. There was nothing left for kudya. With four million refugees abroad, there are more exiles now than during the Smith regime. The imperialists are now in a waiting game. Zimbabwe money is virtually valueless. My estimate is that at least one million insurance policies and pensioners have been driven to penury. The old man has acknowledged his sense of encirclement by cursing them out in every speech he gives. The imperialists have lots of experience and patience. They, like jackals, wait it out until the encircled quarry falls down on its own. Enditem