The economic meltdown which has been well chronicled, one sided of course, by the western media will be a saving grace for the “Big Man”.
Mugabe is an independence hero who was darling of the west until about 1999 when he suddenly became a “dictator” in western media coverage.
President Mugabe bold land reforms made him a dictator after years of cordial relations with western world.
And where did the rain start beating?
Zimbabwe earned its independence in 1980. Mugabe had always wanted land reforms just as it had happened in other countries like Kenya. Britain was to give loans and let whites in Zimbabwe sell their land to the government which in turn was to distribute to wananchi. It was to be willing buyer willing seller policy just as it was in Kenya with white highlands in years after independence.
British Prime Minister then the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher never considered that as a priority. John Major succeeded Thatcher at 10 Downing Street. The only thing that shows on Zimbabwe effort was a flurry of letters between Harare and London.
Then came Tony Blair in 1997. Clare Short was Secretary of State for International Development from 3 May 1997. She was directly involved in the Zimbabwe issue and could not go along with Mugabe.
By this time tension was building in Zimbabwe. People were getting impatient, with 80 percent of the best arable land being owned by white Zimbabweans, almost 20 years of “independence”.
Clare Short in a letter to Mugabe said that British were also colonized and they never sought to get the land back therefore Britain was not willing to help. In essence she dismissed Mugabe.
“I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonized not colonizers”, she wrote in part.
Mugabe went ballistic. With elections round the corner in 2000 and tension building over land, Mugabe was helpless when invasions began. The pent up frustrations against white dominated land ownership in a purportedly independent country had reached melting point.
Invasions did take place and it was messy. Whites were bloodied and chased away. Note that in Namibia and South Africa, whites continue to own over 60 percent of the best land. Mugabe is still labeled as a dictator, and yes, some of the people close to the President benefited more than others.
The Inflation.
The inflation was artificially created. In 2001 President Bush at the urging of Tony Blair got congress to pass the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.
The purpose of this Act was to create rebellion against Mugabe from the masses by weakening the economy and thus creating conditions for removal of President Mugabe through popular uprising.
The Act stated US would veto - any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution.
The international financial institutions targeted by this crippling Act were; International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; International Development Association; International Finance Corporation; Inter-American Development Ban; Asian Development Bank;Inter-American Investment Corporation.
Others were the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency.
These two simple acts drove inflation to unimaginable levels. Mugabe stayed put and told his people what was going on. They stuck with him despite the problems.
After all these years the Western governments now realized Mugabe will only go by natural souses, refer to Wikileaks from Zimbabwe ambassador .
The truth is Morgan Tsvangilai who was put up by Western governments has already said it will be difficult to repossess those lands from Black Zimbabweans. That’s the reality.
