Zimbabweans demand change in attitude from Mugabe April 4, 2014 in NewsDay Editorial
THE Fourth European Union (EU)-Africa Summit, which ends today in Brussels, Belgium, was attended by over 40 African Heads of State and 23 leaders from Europe.
President Robert Mugabe didn’t attend.
Although Mugabe was eager to attend alongside his contemporaries in the African Union (AU), he backed off after the EU refused to grant his wife Grace a visa to accompany him.
Business and diplomats responded tersely to Mugabe’s decision, pointing out that he had missed a great chance to consolidate nascent moves towards normalising relations with the EU.
Mugabe tried to use the refusal as a way to arm-twist the hosts and rally Africa to boycott the summit, but miscalculated and overestimated his continental influence.
There were no signs of a boycott of the summit, as African leaders including neighbours Zambia’s President Michael Sata, Malawi’s Joyce Banda and Botswana’s Ian Khama, attended the event.
It was a major diplomatic bungle of unimaginable proportions by Mugabe, who wants to be revered as an elder African statesman.
The EU-Africa Summit sought to find ways to invest in people, prosperity and peace. It also sought ways to stimulate economic growth and job creation, among themes.
Mugabe’s move ought to be taken as hubris. In its modern usage, hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power. It symbolises Mugabe’s overconfidence in himself, his pride and arrogance.
African leaders who attended realised that the overbearing influence of Mugabe is detrimental to Africa’s progress.
Commendably, other African countries saw through Mugabe’s machinations by realising that “godfatherism” in continental politics will in the long term take its toll on the interests and development of their people.
Remarkably, Mugabe’s intransigency will not grow the Zimbabwean economy especially as it comes when the country and Europe were pushing towards improving their relations despite fundamental differences.
This suggests a leader who has become hostage to the patronage system which he initially created to secure his power. The truth is that while there are many in the establishment who want change in Zanu PF government policy, there is only a minuscule who believe that this should come about through Mugabe because of his perceived overbearing influence on Africa; all of which doesn’t save the government from being a huge embarrassment to the continent.
Zimbabweans demand a change of attitude from Mugabe and the political class who see politics as a means of actualising their private agenda instead of service to the people.
COMMENTS
ZIMBABWEANS DEMAND CHANGE OF ATTITUDE FROM THE JOURNALIST
This is about womans rights not some stupid political rhetoric.
We cannot have a situation where we think someone may be guilty of something so ewe punish the family – this attitude went out the door centuries ago with education.
Again if he chose a girlfriend she would get a visa – very stupid!
If we had a human rights organization or humabn rights lawyer locally they would taskle this but there are no real human rights groups locally.
In order to be in humsn rights you have to be apolitical, impartial and completely independent – all those locally receive funding from propaganda funds so they are in a conflict situation.
Name one human rights group of lawyer that is apolitical and fits the criteria – there are none they are all after a quick buck.
All those right thinking Zimbabweans will support womans rights and applaud Mugabe for not attending and look upon those that support the illegal EU act with the disgust they deserve.
Woman and families have rights and if we pubnish them for no reason our education reverts back centuries and we need to start trying to be civilized again.
This is not a political situation is about womans rights and families rights, only idiots politicize it because they don’t know any better.
You have raped, killed and denied women education, where is the women’s rights Apolitical? How come you only see differently from the rest of Zimbabweans? We know who you are don’t play hypocrite, you bomboclaat!
You talking rubbish apolitical
Apolitical, as always you are advertising your idiocy. Before you talk of human rights organizations, you need to consider one crucial factor; Mugabe and his government do not care about women’s rights. Zanu p.f.has a policy of setting it’s militias upon women who support opposition parties, using rape as a weapon of subjugation.
During gukurahundi Five brigade women mercilessly raped and maimed women telling them they were going to conceive Shona children.
Crucially, the point that you miss is Grace had no role to play at the summit. It was for head of states and to their credit 44 of them attended. Mugabe acted like the 9 year old he claimed to be during his 90th birthday celebrations. It is shameful to defend such pettiness.
Education apolitical says, and he can’t even spell, “ewe for you”.
Atrocious punctuation, terrible sentence construct and vocabulary.
If that is your level of education, you are disqualified from this Forum!
Only you applaud M’Garbage, did you see that the masses at the
Meeting enjoyed not having that loud-mouth Simian there.
It was a change not to put up with his snoring and dribbling!
Are you dreaming? Mugabe not only will not change, HE CANNOT CHANGE.
Only his death will release us. Oh that wonderful day…bring it on.
We are not looking for a change in attitude although it would be nice. we want a new president: a man elected By God himself to run this nation. A man after God’s heart. let us pray for that.
God doesn’t elect Presidents,
(the Israelites at Nikuv do).
He’s got more important things to do!
We do need a change in attitude.
This is a tired old and dying man that Zanu has fostered on us. There is nothing newgoing to come out of him he is a spent force.
This is all because the looters want the status quo to remain so they can pillage .
We should not expect anything except continued looting.
Only with a new beginning without Zanu can we realise our great potential.
Pasi ne Zanu
Apolitical
You talk a lot of rubbish.There is absolutely no relationship btwn DisGrace’s VISA and women rights.
Really! Really! Really! Did you think Africa was going to listen to a mafia, fossilized, out-of-touch-with reality, incompetent self serving voice?
The World and Africa are progressing whilst white haired cabals are looting the country left right and centre. We have a criminal cabal wearing fancy suits masquerading as properly elected officials, hyping about salary gate, pretensive and deceptive as always, when its much-a-do about nothing, with the objective of diverting people’s attention.
WELL SAID!
Day dreamer is back with his dreams again ,human rights groups are not wanted by your blood sucker who thinks of himself no wonder he said his Zimbabwe, his leadership is failing to help people who were affected by the rain and is refusing other people to give help, what kind of a person is he, now he is busy shipping new software and computers from Israel to rig next elections.
That will never happen again, and anyway,
M’Garbage will be Dead!
This article confirms that africans really do get the ‘governments’ they deserve……. you are stupid and corrupt beyond hope!
But I knew this when I was only a child in Rhodesia 1975.
Charlie, what were doing in the continent of stupid people?
A stupid white man thought there would be no majority rule in a thousand years. A stupid African took over and ran the country to the ground.
This means there are stupid people on this planet; black and white. Evidently, you are one of those very stupid white people who do not realise that there is stupidity across racial lines.
fool
Zimbabweans don’t demand change in attitude from #mugabe but in fact EUs are demanding because as long as Mugabe appears there, there is no food or technical elements for EU!
What the hell are you trying to say,
your comment makes no sense!
Try and slow down and write like an
educated Zimbabwean, don’t embarrass us!
Tell him to goon off and retire alongside Apol
I think most you guys are missing the point here. The theme of the summit is anti-Mugabe “invest in people, prosperity and peace”. Sounds threaten to Mugabe. There are no people in Zimbabwe, let alone talking about their prosperity. Worse still peace. This scared Mugabe. It is a silly excuse that he boycotted because of his wife visa problem. Mugabe was sure that he was not going to find audience @ the summit. He had no clue on what was to be discussed. He only thrives in a violent prone environment. By the way, I the president of Malawi attended for all Malawians including Mugabe. So why duplicate the effort. Pamberi negutsaruzhinji. Pamberi nenzara. Pamberi nekuba. Pamberi nenhubu. Pamberi nenharadada. Pasi nevanoda kuvaka nyika. Look East hoyeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Certified i…t apolitical can you abandon the nation just because a wife was refused a visa if its about caring for him that s nonsense because he said he was going to be servant of regardless of his age why want to be president at 90 SHAME.
Guys the point we are missing here is that: this is what happens when you marry a person half your age. With all due respect to all women.Bedroom politics have been running the country since the departure of our beloved mother Sally.
Everybody on this forum knows Charlie has mental problems. When he is silent he is on his MEDS. NBS, REVERAND, please join us in prayers for this lost brother. Apologies for calling you a fool Charlie.
Mugabe’s attitude when he gukurahundied Mthwakazi in the 1980s is exactly the same as he it is now, as he continues to fight everyone around him. There is nothing new – but Shonas supported him in the 1980s, why? why are you concerned now, when you were never bothered then?