A speech making all the right noises

Emmerson Mnangagwa’s speech of reconciliation will be widely welcomed in Zimbabwe, even if his powers of oratory fell well short of those of his predecessor.

He reached out to people across the “ethnic, racial and political” divides, following years of deep polarisation under Robert Mugabe.

However, those Zimbabweans who can recall the days before Mr Mugabe – the minority – will know that when he took power in 1980, he made similar pledges, and was widely praised for it, both at home and around the world.

AFP

What Zimbabweans really want is for Mr Mnangagwa to breath new life into their failed economy.

Here, he also made all the right noises, recognising the severity of the problem.

He even promised compensation to the white farmers whose eviction caused the economy to spiral into free-fall. However, it is not clear where he would get the money from, and he did insist that land reform itself was non-negotiable.

He also accepted that he would not be judged on his speeches, but on his actions.

All Zimbabweans will agree with that.