President Mugabe Finally Wants To Retire

For the first time, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 91, has said he will retire.
He was speaking at the
weekend to a group of people involved in the 1970s war against minority
white rule and who claim they are owed money by the state, which can
neither fund them nor pay civil servants on time.
Mugabe told the “war
collaborators” that he believed he had now “defeated… the British and
Americans…” and that he understood times were difficult in Zimbabwe. “We
are in a critical time… for regime change.”
It has never been clear
what Mugabe and the governing Zanu-PF mean when referring to “regime
change”, as the British have few financial interests in Zimbabwe and the
Americans “have zero political and economic interest in Zimbabwe”, said a senior Western diplomat this week.
Mugabe regularly tells
supporters that Zimbabwe has unexplored financial riches, but that is
not what local geologists and other analysts say.
“There was a time, some
years ago, when Zimbabwe seemed important, that it could be a
powerhouse in the region, but that moment has long gone, and now it is
hard to find anyone who can forecast how it can repay its debts even
with a new leadership, let alone attract foreign investment,” said a Harare-based financial analyst who asked not to be named.
“There are no so-called unexplored minerals. The best opportunities are a few, well-managed small mines, but nothing big.”
He also questioned why anyone with alternatives
would choose to live in Zimbabwe, as it was short of water and
electricity. “There is not much to attract anyone to Zimbabwe these
days. It is not a particularly comfortable or attractive place to live
nowadays.”
Zanu-PF says Mugabe
will be its candidate in the 2018 elections and will only retire in
2023, when he 99. Mugabe told his old friend Cephas Msipa four months
ago that he would never retire.
Mugabe also acknowledged that there were factions
within Zanu-PF, but that they would come together ahead of the next
elections. Veteran Zimbabwe political analyst Brian Raftopoulos says
chances that the fractured opposition could win the next elections are
“bleak”.
Zimbabwe is so broke it
has largely run out of the cash it uses – US dollars – and later this
week, a new currency called Bond Notes will emerge in some bank
exporters’ bank accounts.
Africa News Agency
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