Independence Day Congratulations, Zimbabwe

With the world's highest inflation rate, 90% unemployment, and consumer shortages of every conceivable kind from food to medicines, housing and educational opportunities, the former South Rhodesia hasn't gained too much in the last thirty years. It was once considered to be the breadbasket of its continent. It was once thought to be one of the leading countries of Africa, setting out to govern itself in the best traditions of countries free of the yoke of colonialism.

Perhaps elsewhere in the world, but not, certainly, in Africa. Those who present as liberators somehow inevitably turn themselves into vicious tribal tyrants. Not only in Africa, but certainly measurably in Africa. Predictably, the worst human-rights abusers are loath to surrender their authority, and assume that they have the right to rule for their lifetime. As most certainly has been the case with Robert Mugabe who insists he is Zimbabwe.

His administration has given corruption and mismanagement, violence and human rights violations a bad name. Odd that Zimbabwe has a history with North Korea, another human-rights-abusing regime. North Korea's military trained Zimbabwe's Fifth Brigade, which with its newly-professional training behind it, went on to kill 20,000 of its citizens, expunging a rival liberation group of dissidents.

But then tribal predations are never far from the scene anywhere in Africa. With Robert Mugabe's land-seizure policy launched in 2000, targeting the productive farms of white Zimbabweans, killing or throwing white farm families off their legally-owned land and gifting that same land to his war-time cronies who have left the land fallow, President Mugabe guaranteed the cataclysmic loss of valuable agribusiness, leaving his people to starve.

But then, of course, that's what the United Nations is for; its World Food Agency stepped right up to halt the piteous mass starvation with international food aid. Which is also needed by millions of starving North Koreans. Not-so-strange bedfellows. Nor, one must assume, is it so very strange that Zimbabwe has another great and good friend in Iran, with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad set to open Zimbabwe's International Trade Fair on April 23.

Robert Mugabe is so admired by some in neighbouring South Africa for his white-cleansing activities in kicking white farmers off their land, that there has been talk about doing the same in South Africa. Not the legitimate government of South Africa; not just yet, but the influential youth, like ANC Youth League leader Julius Melama who adores espousing white hatred, and who advocates 'land redistribution', and who has been invited to come along and sing and dance in Harare.

Iran's crooked 2009 re-election of its president nicely matches that of Zimbabwe's in 2008. That wretched 'democratic' debacle brought in the Southern African Development Community to broker a union between the winning Movement for Democratic Change under Morgan Tsvangerai, with the ZANU-PF, after much heated negotiating and elbow-shoving. Still, Mr. Tsvangerai has not been able to gain the upper hand.

Desperate to save his country from utter ruin under the transitional power-sharing government, his hands are tied by the strength of Mugabe's continuing corrupt manipulations, and Robert Mugabe and his party remain effectively, disastrously, in control. Prime Minister Tsvangerai's efforts have resulted in some relief for his country from utter collapse, but political or constitutional reform remain elusive.

"Torture, harassment and politically-motivated prosecutions of human rights defenders and perceived opponents have persisted, while villagers in parts of Zimbabwe have suffered ceaseless intimidation by supporters of former ruling party ZANU-PF", read a recent report by Amnesty International.

Despite Prime Minister Tsvangerai's best efforts to thwart the continued illegal and horribly deleterious machinations of President Mugabe, he fights an uphill battle. Morgan Tsvangerai has suffered greatly, through illegal arrests, torture beatings, the death of his wife through a suspicious motor accident, the accidental death of a grandchild, yet he battles on to try to save his country.

The latest, an attempt to promulgate a new law: "pernicious racist legislation designed to facilitate the theft of property by an avaricious and venal ZANU-PF-affiliated black elite", was foiled through Mr. Tsvangerai's "nulling and voiding" President Mugabe's attempt to see that all companies invested in Zimbabwe to a value in excess of a half-million dollars would have to 'sell' 51% shares to black Zimbabweans though an "indigenization law".

There will be no hope for this country that once promised so much for its people until the old dictator fades into history; his departure cannot come swiftly enough for Zimbabweans, most of whom have no reason whatever to celebrate their 30th Independence anniversary.