This is not the first time sanctions have been imposed on Zimbabwe. The Rhodesian Front government went for fifteen years or thereabouts of full blown UN-imposed sanctions in the middle of a civil war but did not suffer the kind of economic meltdown that Zimbabwe witnessed in the decade after 2000. That the sanctions regime currently in place is a much weaker version compared to what Smith faced is indubitable, unless you are using the sanctions for propaganda purposes. Needless to add, with every pun intended, Mugabe loved the sanctions against Smith but is not happy about the sanctions on himself. To add further inconvenience, the sanctions imposed on Smith were because he was a very undemocratic individual who oppressed, abducted, disappeared and killed a lot of people. And, to be fair to Mugabe, he is also a very undemocratic individual who oppresses, abducts, disappears and kills a lot of people. That's the reason why sanctions were imposed for both. The only reason why anyone would bother to consider the lifting of sanctions is when there are visible signs of reform. I do not see them, does anyone else see them?
The economic meltdown was largely caused by bad policies...and poor personnel, I must add. In addition, while the Rhodesians realised that they were in the cauldron together and did everything to work in the same direction, Zimbabweans a are fractious and peevish lot led by a thieving cabal which is not designed for survival under threat. The country has the resources to get out of the quagmire but those resources are being abused. It is this difference in culture and outlook that allowed Rhodesia to survive for those years despite being an obviously reprehensible regime while Zimbabwe's economy failed. Gideon Gono's strategy to reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar, announced with a lot of fanfare in 2009, could have been implemented when he became the reserve bank governor in 2003 not after the demise of the local currency under his watch. Lack of timely and judicious implementation of sound programmes is what caused the death of the ZimDollar, not lack of printing paper and spare parts from Germany. While Smith implemented a sound sanctions busting programme despite having only one friendly nation in the neighbourhood, Mugabe has failed dismally to do anything despite having friends all over the place. It's something to do with political will.
ZANU PF have no intention of reforming themselves. So, whether they are under sanctions or not is immaterial to the democratisation process. Even if you were to remove the sanctions today you will not move ZANU PF an inch from their current position. Such is ZANU PF's intransigence. The democratisation process itself is inimical to their continued stay in the corridors of power and the opportunities for corruption that come with it. It is illogical to assume that they will allow a process that will definitely remove them from power and for some will lead to prosecution. In addition, none of these people are actually serious business people. Such an appellation is inappropriate for a person who walks onto a farm, harvests all the produce, receives loans from the RBZ, free inputs and implements and gets a yield of zero tonnes per hectare...let's be serious. Such people cannot survive outside cabinet and they know it. While Zuma thinks removing sanctions will improve the pace of reform, I think it will do nothing of the sort. The only reason why ZANU PF is where it is is because they have lost the confidence of the people of Zimbabwe. The thin veneer of legitimacy (acquired with the connivance of the ANC and SADC in previous elections) was discarded after March 2008. So, Zuma's focus and energy should be better spent consulting the people of Zimbabwe and making sure that their voice is heard. This can be done if people focus on it. Zuma suggested we should park some issues and proceed. Good idea, let's park the sanctions and proceed!
