I do note that an Instablogs user has decided to vilify me for describing myself as “Rhodesian educated”. I stand by my words. I cannot change history, and the reason that I identify myself as that is because I was educated in Rhodesia!

Nothing more, nothing less.

I am not about to cross swords with someone for their opinion. They are entitled to it, just as I am entitled to describe myself as I will.

And the reason why I detail it, is because the education in Rhodesia was so much better than that offered in Zimbabwe. Same country - same curriculum - different administration…

Today’s education standards in Zimbabwe are the lowest the country has ever known. Children suffer because of Mugabe’s failure to address inflation and the inability of the country to employ much more than 20% of the workforce.

Those parents that are employed, struggle to pay the school fees, whilst teachers are forever out on strike for higher salaries.

Rhodesia had so much more to offer then than Zimbabwe has today.

And Mugabe’s spokesperson often states that he knows of no country that has survived economically in the face of full economic international sanctions.

There are two things wrong with that statement.

Firstly, the Zimbabwean government is only under targeted sanctions, which precludes travel to identified parts of the world, and the banning of identified people in certain business deals.

Secondly, Rhodesia was under full economic international sanction and still the economy was good, the country was able to feed itself and the people had jobs, fuel, food, medical services and money.

But Rhodesia entered the history books 28 years ago. Like it or not, it is still a place in time, and for some of us at least, a part of our own history.

They can call the country whatever they want. And indeed it has had different names through the years - but it still remains the same for me. I love Zimbabwe and I love the people of that country. There are just a few people that look to ruin the potential that it has as a jewel of Africa.

For Mugabe to have been successful, he need not have changed anything when he took power in April 1980.

But Mugabe fiddled with the Constitution, and then fiddled with the law. Then he turned his military upon the people, and as his party and government ran out of money in the light of the agricultural demise, he began to fund his endeavours from the coffers of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

I make no bones about the fact that Mugabe is an exceptionally well educated person and is very intelligent. This is apparent in his manner of dealing with much of his protractors with disdain.

But his wisdom is indeed questionable.

Setting the military on the people of the country does little for the economy, the productive sector of the country, and causes more damage and destruction than the country can afford to repair.

But Mugabe’s tactic of using the military on the population is not one of selective choice. This is Mugabe playing his last card, trying to keep power through the barrel of a gun, than conceding defeat and honourably leaving the public stage.

The people of Zimbabwe are not vengeful people, and so much more sympathy for his plight would be present if he did the right and correct thing.

But Mugabe will not acknowledge defeat and as he hangs on grimly to the tiny part of power he has left, delaying the inevitable will only result in more dead bodies - and nobody wants that.

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man