Funny, if in light of the tragedy you could call that, funny thing it´s published in the bastion of lefty Bush-bashing, the pomously named GUARDIAN UNLIMITED.
Though the "hot" war is only a year ago, there is distinct simmilarity of actions of the "veterans" in both countries: property take-overs, forced contributions, beatings and torture.
Common for both countries is the IMMENSE potential: in Z. there is abundance of best agricultural land in Africa, which could feed half of it; in Nepal, the hydro-power potential... But it´s easier to raise emotions, envy and raise hell in order to steal the little there is, instead of building and creating...
I hope the honchos in DANIDA sleep well, after destroying a nice, sleepy country like Nepal.
'We are being ruled by highway economic bandits'Chris McGreal in Bulawayo Saturday March 17, 2007 The Guardian Jabulani Sibanda was once a man to be reckoned with in Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF, and he may yet prove to be again. He ran the party in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo and, for a while, headed the war veterans' association that led the seizure of white-owned farms. But he was thrown out of the party for daring to say what is increasingly heard inside Zanu-PF: that the party is little better than a mafia plundering the country while ordinary people sink deeper into poverty. "I was suspended from the party for calling all the leadership thieves. It's true," he said. "We've reached the stage where we are ruled by highway economic bandits. It's obvious to everyone what is happening." "It is not only that the nation being betrayed but the party is being misled. The entire leadership must go. Mugabe must go. They have lost the confidence of the people." Mr Mugabe's crumbling support within his traditional power base is a bigger threat to his regime than the divided and disorganised opposition. With the economy collapsing and another food crisis looming, some Zanu-PF groupings are pressing for Mr Mugabe to retire at the next presidential election due in a year, seeing it as the only way to rescue the party. Others, who fear his departure would herald the collapse of Zanu-PF rule, pressed for the presidential ballot to be delayed until parliamentary elections in 2010. Mr Mugabe backed that option but has been unable to force it on the party and has suggested he could instead run for election again next year. His critics in Zanu-PF view the uncertainty as a sign that his grip on the party is weakening. They are becoming more public as rival factions led by vice-president, Joice Mujuru, and rural housing minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, compete to succeed Mr Mugabe. But there are those such as Mr Sibanda who believe the only way the party can win a legitimate election is with a clean sweep of the leadership. His biggest gripe is over the seizure and redistribution of white-owned farms which he describes as a noble cause exploited by the ruling elite for personal gain at the expense of the peasant families who were supposed to benefit and the country as a whole because food production has fallen sharply. "What is frustrating to the war veterans is the abuse they are suffering a second time," he said. "They fought for the land and waited years for it. But the land redistribution did not benefit those it was supposed to." It is a view shared by George Mlala, a former Matabeleland provincial leader for Zanu-PF, who was thrown out of the party two years ago for allegedly plotting against Mr Mugabe. He meets regularly with its officials in Bulawayo who he said are just as unhappy with the leadership as he is. "The party is dying. We need to remove the leaders," he said. "They are no longer accountable to the people, the people are accountable to the party... I don't mind being persecuted for taking over the land from white farmers. I don't mind that we are criticised by the British and Americans. But we did not fight against colonialism to replace it with the level of corruption that is the system of government today." Challenging Mr Mugabe does not translate to support for the opposition MDC , which has split under rival wings. The leaders of the two factions, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, were severely beaten on their way to an anti-government protest on Sunday. But Mr Sibanda is suspicious of foreign support for Mr Tsvangirai who is often more highly regarded by the Foreign Office than by local voters. "People are suspicious of why the British support Tsvangirai. Is it that they want him as CEO of their company called Zimbabwe and to put their people back on the farms," he said. |
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