by Johnny Blonde

Created on: December 09, 2008

A nation once with a respected leader who reserved a slight amount of anger towards Britain had a healthcare service the envy of Africa. No more.

Robert Mugabe is now seen as a tyrannical dictator urged on by top-level cronies in his party Zanu-PF and his country has ground to a halt due to rapidly rising inflation which is now at 2.5 million percent and most recently a mass outbreak of cholera which has officially killed 600 people but the real toll is believed to be much higher. The disease is spread by contaminated water and is easily prevented and treatable but Zimbabwe now has no way of being able to either prevent or treat the disease because it has run out of chemicals for the water and the hospitals lay empty because there are no medicines left and no staff around to give help.

Robert Mugabe first tried to kill his own citizens during the elections and now his actions in his government have caused the cholera outbreak. It is no wonder then that major leaders of UK government and pretty much everywhere else are calling out for the death of Mugabe's iron grip on control of the country. Gordon Brown has recently stated that the cholera outbreak "is now an international rather than a national emergency. International because disease crosses borders. International because the systems of government in Zimbabwe are now broken. There is no state capable or willing of protecting its people." He stopped short however of airing support for the removal of Mugabe from power. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg had no such problem in attacking Robert Mugabe directly and he has called on the international community to help citizens of Zimbabwe "The world has sat idly by whilst Robert Mugabe has brutalised his own people for too long."

This is all plays a part in getting African nations to take a stronger stance on Zimbabwe which involves getting leaders to break off friendly ties with Mugabe, these leaders have only so far offered tepid criticisms of the regime and would have thought to have been much harsher when cholera threatens their own nations if they border Zimbabwe.

We may be witnessing the final months of Mugabe and Zanu-PF in absolute power but why must it come at such a price? Maybe soon we will see the Movement for Democratic Change in charge of at least one cabinet position and the chance for other nations to start sending Aid once they know it won't be swindled and will actually go towards buying water treatment chemicals and the revitalization of hospitals and medical centres.

There is no clear way to fix Zimbabwe right now but it is the small steps that must be made which will lead the nation in the right direction and hopefully make it again one of the more successful African nations, Britain had a big hand in creating this mess indeed but Mugabe made it so much worse.

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