A right to poverty?
When a Government says that they are introducing measures to restore people’s right to an affordable cost of living, it would usually be greeted with gratitude from the population as a sign of a compassion and consideration from their elected representatives.
However, when we take into account that this is Zimbabwe, the alarm bells begin to ring, and not without justification. Robert Mugabe’s rule in Zimbabwe, once one of the leading exporters in Africa, has led it to the brink of collapse. 4 million people living there are expected to go hungry next year as production has collapsed.
Mugabe imposed wide-ranging state price controls which threaten to wreak further havoc for the people of Zimbabwe. Shops are having to sell their goods for a tiny fraction of their true value, leading to widespread shortages of food. Supermarket shelves are empty, and black marketeers are selling the goods at vastly inflated prices. The plight of people in this country should be a concern for us all. Instead, we see Mugabe being invited to an EU Summit this year. William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary was absolutely right to call this a ‘disgrace’ and it is time for the new Prime Minister to take a much tougher line in dealing with this heartless and mindless regime.
The people of Zimbabwe deserve so much better. The former breadbasket of Africa is now a basket case. It is truly appalling that a number of the country’s neighbours are so unwilling to be openly critical. Apart from the Zimbabwean people themselves, it is they who are having to deal with the tragic consequences.