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Zimbabwe political deal offers little joy to citizens
Masimba Biriwasha , OhmyNews
September 12, 2008

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=383653&rel_no=1

Zimbabweans woke up to news that a power-sharing agreement had been reached between incumbent President Robert Mugabe and the political opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai but many could not even afford a copy of the state-owned newspaper that announced the news.

In Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, many people could be seen peering at the bold news headline in The Herald newspaper which read: "Deal At Last," and then walking away, whispering among each other about the prospects of the deal.

"If they really have, and if it sticks, it will mean an extraordinary alliance between Robert Mugabe and those who until yesterday were his bitterest foes -- people who have been spied on, beaten up and arrested and seen friends and family killed by his thugs," reported The Times newspaper.

The fact of the matter is that there are still many outstanding political and economic issues in the country that require bold steps and a reversal of previous botched policies implemented by Mugabe's government.

In particular is the land redistribution which government embarked on in year 2000. Mugabe's government initiated a land reform programme that was at best disorganized and at worst favoured only ZANU-PF party apparitchiks.

Today, much of Zimbabwe's fertile agricultural land lies fallow, and it is not surprising that the country is faced with severe food insecurity.

Though the two protagonists in Zimbabwe's political drama have agreed to a deal, ensuring equitable distribution of Zimbabwe' land remains a mammoth task; it is literally a political minefield for both Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

Moreover, in much of Zimbabwe's hinterland, political division and violence remains the order of the day. Unless the new government institutes a process of reconciliation, mayhem will continue to be the order of the day in the rural areas.

Many of the officials in government structures either support or have benefitted from Mugabe's party-political influenced policies. These will continue to present a challenge to Tsvangirai's leadership.

In that respect, the so-called deal is only a tip of the iceberg of the numerous challenges confronting the country.

There are fears among political analysts that Mugabe will swallow Tsvangirai as he did his political foe and former comrade in the struggle, Joshua Nkomo, during the 1980s.

"Mugabe is not to be trusted as he has proved on many occasions. He must have no executive powers what so ever and the military must be neutralised as they have sworn not to salute Tsvangarai and are responsible for human rights abuses which disqualifies them from ever being a party to a "deal," commented a political analyst.

Whatever the case, there is little joy among Zimbabwean who are having to cope a run-away inflation, pegged at over 11 million percent.

Even the US dollar has not been spared from the country's hyperinflation. The cost of goods in US dollar terms is also rising; Zimbabwe has indeed become both expensive and impoverished.

The mood in Harare is depressed as it is clear that the political deal will not change things fundamentally in the short-term.

In the long, Zimbabwe's political players will have to swallow bitter pills and also make difficult decisions in order to turn a new page in the country's destiny.

So, while the deal has been reportedly signed, much, much more needs to be done to make Zimbabwe a better place.

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