Will Mugabes Friends Please Stand Up!

This week, the new finance Minister of the Inclusive government in Zimbabwe revised the country's budget. It doesnt look good. The revision is coming barely two months after the budget was presented by one Patrick Chinamasa, a failed lawyer, but staunch Mugabe loyalist who has dominated most of Mugabes cabinets since 1985. His highlight, being floored by Roy Bennet in parliament after calling his ancestors thieves and murderers.

Having hoped that the international community (I have asked before what this animal is!) would fall over each other to bail out crumbling Zimbabwe after forming the unity government, the coffers remain dry. This March, the government is unable to pay all civil servants. Diplomatic missions have learnt other means of survival wherever they are, their pay has been erratic since 2002. We now know why Mugabe bit his toungue and formed the unity government. We also now know why his heart skipped a beat when Morgan Tsvangirai escaped death by a whisker in the fateful accident that claimed his wife. Mugabe and his goons and goofs have bled Zimbabwe dry. As at january, there was no more money left in the coffers, that is why they scuttled to settle with Morgan. He is their ace.

Mugabe has reduced the once mighty Zimbabwean economy to a basket case. Now we are told, 88% of revenue collection is coming from beer and cigarrets imports. "We are now implementing the basic law of hunting economics," the new minister of Finance declared. "What we gather is what we eat." I can inderstand him. A country of 12 million people is expecting only 1billion for the whole year. For all his thundering and masquarades, Mugabe has reduced Zimbabwe to a "Hunting and Gathering Society." You will need to go back to your history books to see how many centuries this man has single handedly wound back the clock for Zimbabweans.

He is now asking for "his" friends to please come forward and bail him out. We wait to see how many admirers he has, now that push has come to shove.