The nation of Zimbabwe just went under a change
in government. Robert Mugabe is
being replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa had been a close ally of Mugabe. However, he had to flee the country after he was dismissed
as vice-president. Mnangagwa has
close ties with the military and his dismissal may have been the reason the
military sent troops to arrest Mugabe.
Under the circumstances Mugabe decided to resign. He is being accused of rigging
elections and using violence to repress his opponents. Mnangagwa may not be the exact remedy
for eliminating political violence.
He is widely believed to be responsible for the Gukurahundi massacres in which up to
20,000 civilians were killed.
Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980
after an election that replaced the white dominated Rhodesian government with a
largely African one. This was a
great victory for anti-colonial progressives. Mugabe has been showered with honorary degrees from
Universities as far as Edinburgh, Massachusetts, Michigan, Atlanta and
Moscow. He was recently named a
goodwill ambassador by the World Health Organization. This a curious honor in light of Zimbabwe’s deteriorating
heath care system. Many critics
complain that Zimbabwe’s health care system has
collapsed. They complain that
medical staff is regularly unpaid and medications are in short supply. The inability to obtain basic drugs and
medicines has been blamed on hyperinflation. About one fifth of the population is
infected with HIV. At one point life expectancy of Zimbabwean
women has dropped from 61 years, in 1991, to 34 years. The World Health Organization currently
(2015) puts the female life expectancy at 62.3
years. However, in light of the
deteriorating health care system, their figures should be looked at skeptically.
The failure of Zimbabwe is an embarrassment to
the progressive globalists. It is
best to avoid reporting news from there except for reports of crop failures due
to drought or shortages due to hyperinflation. Few would, like Andrew Young, defend Mugabe. Nicholas Kristof wrote in the New
York Times, “Many, many ordinary black Zimbabweans wish that they could get
back the white racist government that oppressed them in the 1970’s.”
The Financial Times reported that, “One of Mr
Mnangagwa’s main challenges will be turning around the ailing economy as the
country grapples with a severe currency shortage, rampant unemployment and
crumbling infrastructure.”
According to one Zimbabwean source China and the West provide 80% of Zimbabwe’s revenue. In 2015 the United States provided $159
million in aid to the country.
Mugabe will get a 5 to 10 million dollar “golden parachute,” immunity from
prosecution for his family and his family’s assets will be protected. He will also received his $150,000
salary for the rest of his life.
His wife has been nicknamed “Gucci Grace” for her lavish spending. She has spent millions on property and
luxury cars in South Africa. Her
oldest son, Bellarmine Chatunga, recently posted a clip on social media showing
him pouring a £200 bottle of Ace of Spades champagne over a $60,000 diamond
encrusted Rolex at a Johannesburg
nightclub. He boasted, “daddy runs
the whole country”. Kristof quotes a farmer
by the name of Isaac, “It was better under Rhodesia. Then we could get jobs.
Things were cheaper in stores. Now we have no money, no food.” Isaac’s daddy obviously run the whole
country.
Zimbabwe’s elite love showcasing their wealth
on social media. They have no
concern for the millions of their countrymen who are starving. This is more than conspicuous
consumption. It borders on the
pathological. Robert Mugabe Jr.
travels in a private jet “with an interior
decked out completely in gold.”
He has a black Batmobile.
He purchased two Rolls Royces in September. Sidney Himbara Jr., whose father is one of the richest
businessmen in Zimbabwe, wears customised alligator skin, gold plated Giuseppe
Zanotti $14,000 trainers. He has a
golden revolver that fires lipstick pellets.
Nicholas Kristof pointed out in the New York
Times, “When a white racist government was oppressing Zimbabwe, the
international community united to demand change.” He states that now a black racist government is harming the
people. He claims that most of the
criticism is focused on the seizure the farms from white landowners. The major victims, however, are black
Zimbabweans. Kristof states, “Our
hypocrisy is costing hundreds of Zimbabwean lives every day.“
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