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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Mugabe Officially Out in Zimbabwe

The word from the AP is that the challenger in the race has declared victory...

The main opposition party claimed outright victory Wednesday for its leader Morgan Tsvangirai, saying he had won 50.3 percent of the vote compared to 43.8 percent for President Robert Mugabe.

The ruling ZANU-PF party rejected the opposition's claims, saying that it would await the full results from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which has not yet published the outcome of Saturday's presidential poll.

Mugabe's reign of terror on that nation is difficult to quantify. When he took over Zimbabwe was on its way toward economic prosperity. Here is how one article described the difference...

When Mafu arrived in Makokoba, Bulawayo was still a prosperous city dominated by the white-owned businesses and farms that made Zimbabwe one of Africa's richest regions. Two years ago, as President Mugabe's land grab destroyed the economy, Mafu lost his job as a cleaner.

"When the Europeans were here, we could cope," he said. "I had money to buy food and a clinic handed out free drugs. Now we have no jobs, no income, inflation is 1,000 per cent and when we go to hospital they ask us for money. If we have none, we are turned away."

The Zimbabwean Health Ministry has conceded that 63 people died of starvation in Bulawayo last month. According to a prominent critic of the government, Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, the real figure is many times higher. He estimates that 1,000 people die from lack of food each month around Bulawayo alone.

Mugabe managed to destroy most of Zimbabwe's natural resources and with it the economy at large. Just recently, their inflation rate passed 100,000%. Of course, Mugabe's reign of terror spread throughout Zimbabwe's society. He subverted civil rights, created abject poverty, and confronted all adversaries with a heavy handed approach.

Hopefully, this is the dawn of a new day in Zimbabwe.

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