Former Zimbabwean agriculture minister Denis Norman says that the United States, through President George Bush, may have the key to the Zimbabwean crisis.
Speaking to the Cape Town Press Club, former senator Norman, who was Agriculture Minister in President Robert Mugabe’s government until 1997, said Bush was the person who could persuade South African president Thabo Mbeki to pull the carpet from beneath Mugabe.
Noting that Mugabe would not retire with any degree of alacrity, he said America was the ”greatest” financier of the developing world and he believed a package to persuade South Africa to put pressure on Mugabe could include a trade-off for a possible seat on the United Nations Security Council and a large financial incentive.
”I don’t see any other country being able to do it (place the pressure). You need a major power on board,” he said.
Noting that ”every man has his price” — a reference to the fact that Mbeki could be persuaded to change his quiet diplomacy stance — he said Zimbabwe was hugely dependent on South Africa, including in the areas of fuel, power, medicine and transport links. Norman still runs a farm which is about 50km from Harare.
Asked about his assessment of the man — Mugabe — and his apparent change in attitude to white Zimbabweans in particular, the former cabinet minister said: ”Do not believe what you see and hear. He is not mad. His actions may be a bit strange but he knows exactly what he is doing.”
Norman, who is to spend two years in Britain doing an environment consultancy, said Mugabe’s plan was to stay in power and it was likely that Zanu-PF — the ruling party — would remain in power for some time.
Norman said he had personally ”many times” encouraged Mugabe to retire gracefully, but he told him that politicians ”do not retire”.
”He is a loner… power is his meat and drink.”
Norman said as his power appeared to be slipping, he was clearly tightening the available screws. The war veterans, however, had been responsible for the sea change in governance in Zimbabwe, making demands which had been economically costly.
Huge payments made in 1997 and further demands by them subsequently had thrown the country into a tail spin.
”It is almost like dealing with a blackmailer … you give in once and you give in forever.”
The Mugabe government, however, would inevitably change and that change was most likely to take place from within Zanu-PF — with a leader perhaps ”under 60” who would take charge.
Less likely scenarios were that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would win power or that a coalition government with Zanu-PF and MDC would occur. – I-Net Bridge