Hate speech from Cape to Cairo

via Hate speech from Cape to Cairo – The Zimbabwean 4 February 2015 by Jera

President Mugabe has been elected AU president. Already there are signs that Mugabe will spread his usual hate speeches, from Cape to Cairo, after he declared ‘Africa for Africans’ – despite millions of his own people living as economic refuges abroad. Add to that, we have already heard one homophobic joke; ‘men can’t bear children, and neither can the gays.’

Mugabe promised that his tenure as AU chairman would be on ‘issues of infrastructure, value addition and beneficiation, agriculture and climate change.’ We heard him mention Africa’s poor roads and combating, of all things, Ebola and employment creation – all this from a man whose country has dilapidated infrastructure, an agricultural sector that has continually failed to produce sufficient food for its own people, cholera and typhoid outbreaks and 90% unemployment.

In Addis Ababa, Mugabe bragged that Zimbabwe’s tobacco production has surpassed levels achieved prior to land reform but he neglected to mention the amount of deforestation taking place, as farmers use firewood, in lieu of coal, in curing tobacco, due to the rail network’s collapse.

He has failed in 35years to provide the basics – food, jobs, shelter, and clean running water – for just 14million people. How can he possibly do anything for 1,1billion Africans?

Africans should really be worried. The job of the AU chairman is to mobilize solutions in tackling the continent’s many troubles. Mugabe has already proved incompetent in that regard. Zimbabweans should worry even more.

After years of suffering, what most hope for is to see the back of Mugabe rather than seeing him gain more influence. – Till next week, my pen is capped. Jerà. Follow me on Twitter @JeraZW