Is the jury out on Mugabe?

via Is the jury out on Mugabe? – DailyNews Live 16 DECEMBER 2014

HARARE – At the 2012 Zanu PF  conference in Gweru, President Robert Mugabe told delegates and supporters of his pang of pain for having been forced to share power with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

And two weeks ago, addressing war veterans and security chiefs, Mugabe, expressed  disappointment, again, for having been forced to share power with Tsvangirai to the extent of having his son — Chatunga, refusing to greet him because he shook hands with the then Prime Minister while they shared power in the inclusive government.

Of course, these were ‘‘painful’’ remarks by a man who had been made to eat humble pie when he swore on his mother’s grave that Tsvangirai would not rule Zimbabwe.

While Tsvangirai did not go on to rule Zimbabwe, although one might never know, at least he did share office with the veteran Zanu PF leader to the extent of being described by the MDC leader as a ‘‘Victorian Gentleman’’ — albeit observed during the times of sharing pancakes and tea in the early years of the inclusive government.

But if the truth be told, Mugabe was forced to share power with the two formations of the MDC because he had failed Zimbabweans terribly by allowing an economic meltdown under his watch.

There are no signs that gains made during the inclusive government era will be retained.

Instead, there is economic regression and visible worrying signs that there is an emerging path which could drive the economy back into a cul de sac.

The prescriptions have been long written but it is up to Mugabe and Zanu PF to take the economic medication but their inertia symbolises a people that hope to shake away the plague without applying the antidote.

It is important that Mugabe shows the world that the current purging of colleagues and ministers, is not in anyway, an affront to revitalising the once buoyant economy.

Investors, lines of credit and overseas development support are possible only when there is stability.

The nation and indeed the outside world would want to see action that shows the new political dispensation in Zanu PF if economic recovery is to be achieved.

While it is too early to judge the direction that Zimbabwe could take in the coming months, it is inescapable that Mugabe himself must steer it towards that direction.

The jury is out on him!