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Delay is the deadliest form of denial
J.L. Robinson - JAG Open Letter Forum
December 11, 2002

The President,
CFU,
Harare.

Dear Sir,
Over thirty years ago C. Northcote Parkinson wrote about `The Law of delay.' I am asking if you have encountered Mr. Parkinson's works and ideas, and will quote the little bit which I think might interest you and your Learned Council.

"There is nothing static in our changing world and recent research has tended to show that the Abominable No-man is being replaced by the Prohibitive Procrastinator. Instead of saying "No" the Prohibitive Procrastinator says "In due course," foreshadowing Negation by Delay. The theory of Negation by Delay depends upon establishing a rough idea of what amount of delay will equal negation. If we suppose that a drowning man calls for help, evoking the reply "In due course," a judicious pause of
five minutes may constitute for all practical purposes, a negative response. Why? Because the delay is greater than the non-swimmer's expectation of life. The same principle holds good in a case at law. Delays are thus deliberately designed as a form of denial and are extended to cover the life expectation of the person whose proposal is being pigeon-holed. Where the urgent matter requires remedial legislation, delay takes on a new dimension. The judicious pause will correspond, nevertheless, to the life expectation of the man from whom the proposal originates. DELAY IS THE DEADLIEST FORM OF DENIAL."

The problem that many evicted farmers are faced with is that they are not sure how many "Abominable No-men" or "Prohibitive Procrastinators" sit on your Council. I believe that Mr. Parkinson touched on the core when he wrote "requires remedial legislation."

Sometime in the future, the farmers will find out the truth. Sometime in the future a large number of ordinary people will also find out the truth. Sometime in the future we will see if it is true that over six million people face starvation (or do not?) in Zimbabwe. Sometime in the future, there is a chance that some people will ask if the CFU President and Council were in fact "Prohibitive Procrastinators" - in the classical sense mind you - when six million starving people `called for help.' (never mind the farmers when they called for help!)

For the farmers the ‘judicious pause' has been about thirty four months, I think. For the starving people, the ‘judicious pause' has been long enough for some to die, I believe.

Mr. President, Sir, please give a little thought to Mr. Parkinson's words. He seems to have quantified the immense power of "Procrastination" and a "Judicious Pause." It would be most unfortunate to have these three words associated with the CFU, or Council, or yourself - if people die of starvation in Zimbabwe, this year, and "Prohibitive Procrastinators" become Scapegoats.

Yours faithfully,
J. L. Robinson

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