Zimbabwe burns, SADC drinks tea, and the world builds pyramids.

As the world continues under the powerful grip of political anxiety over the election results in Zimbabwe, I wonder what child will be born to us from this political pregnancy. But, what baffles me the most is how and why one man’s fate would swallow up the entire imagination of Zimbabwe and indeed the world. With the media hovering on Zimbabwe like a fish eagle spotting a potential lunch in the Zambezi one would be tempted to think that Zimbabwe’s entire future is hidden in a box whose key is sewn in this man’s underwear. For why else would a country that is experiencing an unprecedented economic meltdown be so bent on one man’s fate? And why else would the entire world be building a pyramid of “IFS?” If Mugabe goes then the international community will…and if the international community…..then the economy will…and if the economy…my foot!

While much attention has been devoted to the political crisis in Zimbabwe, far less attention has been focused on the economic and social needs created by this crisis. The economy has shrunk by more than a third since 1999, a decline worse than during major African civil wars. Physical infrastructure is deteriorating and there is a shortage of food, fuel, and power. HIV/AIDS continues to severely impact the overall health and well-being of people. The shortage of skilled personnel in public and private institutions is affecting the countries' capacity for governance and development. Institutions are failing to deliver basic services to the people.

Meanwhile, Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders are drinking tea in Zambia over the funeral that has become of this whole situation. The choirs singing the Mugabe must go chorus from Afghanistan to Augusta, Maine continue to sing even though their motivations are as different as the singers themselves. Crocodile tears are beginning to run into the atlantic, sweeping with them all the sense needed to resolve this crisis. In the midst of all this, no one bothers to talk about the needs of the people on the ground. People who have suffered both the sanctions imposed on the country under the disguise of helping them, a people who have suffered the harsh reality of casting a vote that is recounted so many times that the vote evaporates into nothingness. Instead, the preoccupation is one man. And that one man alone has stopped the flow of money,goods, and services to a people that cannot no longer wait for change, any change.

It has been said that Zimbabwe's crisis has diminished the country's capacity to recover on its own without help, but emphasis has not shifted towards practical solutions for recovery and reconstruction. And that baffles my mind. If and indeed the world is concerned about Zimbabwe, why should one man stand in the way of people helping the poor people on the ground? If the world is genuinely worried about Zimbabwe, why should congress not repeal sanctions that are hurting the common man?While 28 years is a long time in one man's lifetime, it is not much in the lifetime of a country. Forget the 28 years! Stop building pyramids. Help Zimbabwe, people are dying as the votes are being recounted and counted. Now is the time help Zimbabweans build.