18 April 2006
On 18 April 2005, Zimbabwe celebrated twenty-five years of independence after the overthrow of white majority rule, under the then Prime Minister Ian Smith. The outright corruption and mismanagement that followed the repossession of 'White" owned farms must be laid squarely at the feet of the Mugabe regime, who despite mediation by South Africa, has failed to come to a politically equitable solution.
Added to the woes of the Zimbabwean people, was the general elections held by the Mugabe regime, which they have unfailingly won for the last twenty-five years. This despite the fact that the Zimbabwean currency has been devalued to levels last experienced by the German Mark after World War 1, that the Zimbabwean economy, once among the most robust in Africa is all but defunct and that Zimbabweans are dependent on food aid, even though Zimbabwe was once known as 'the breadbasket of Africa'.
Outright condemnation of the election results of 2005 Zimbabwean election results, have mostly come from Western governments, with the majority of Zimbabwe's neighbouring countries silent with regard to the situation. This has resulted in Mugabe declaring that criticisms of his regime is racist in nature and that critique voiced by both Black and White is part of a ploy by the West to re-colonise Zimbabwe. This in the face of a situation where pandemics of preventable diseases have ravaged the populace, with starvation becoming commonplace, the education and health systems have all but stopped working and masses of Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring countries, notably South Africa. The only line of credit Harare can still access is provided by the Chinese as they expand their interests into Africa.
References:
The Zimbabwean working people and the land question (online), available at: britannica.com [Accessed 12 April 2010]
Mugabe's Celebratory Rant (online), available at:.news24.com [Accessed 12 April 2010]