President Robert Mugabe appeared to turn to spiritual salvation to lift a country battered by more than six years of a deep economic and political crisis, but analysts said only sweeping reforms will salvage the Southern African country from total collapse.
Mugabe joined church leaders on the weekend to pray for the country’s prosperity and sought divine intervention to end a crisis that analysts blame on his 26-year rule.
The veteran leader, who has been Zimbabwe’s sole ruler since independence from Britain, struck a spiritual note on Sunday, telling Christians who had gathered in Harare for a day of prayer that divine intervention could restore the country’s position as a jewel of Africa.
He prayed for God to pardon Zimbabwe for sins committed that had brought suffering to the country.
”May Zimbabweans, as we work for the economy’s turnaround in every way, reach the goal of being the jewel among other nations, pray for all this in the name of Jesus. Amen,” Mugabe told the gathering in
Harare.
This is the first time Mugabe has delivered a national prayer for God’s intervention.
Some church leaders blamed the government for the country’s woes in their prayers and said the government had to accept it had pursued disastrous policies, especially in the health sector, which has suffered the heaviest brain drain as professionals seek better-paying jobs abroad.
Zimbabwe has implemented several economic programmes, all of which have failed to bring relief to millions of citizens, who have been impoverished by the crisis as they try to grapple with the world’s highest inflation rate of nearly 1 200%, shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel.
Mugabe’s government has turned to long-time ally China for help after a fallout with the West over Harare’s controversial policies, which include the seizure of land from white commercial farmers that has decimated agriculture.
But analysts say the so called ”Look-East” initiative has not yielded much for the country. State media have reported recently that China’s state development bank had promised Zimbabwe financial aid, including a possible currency swap, to help revive an economy with severe foreign-currency shortages.
This month, a Chinese company and two Zimbabwean firms reportedly signed deals worth $1,3-billion to establish coal mines and three thermal power stations in the country, and Chinese companies are also bidding for rights to explore Zimbabwe’s uranium deposits.
But economic analysts are quick to point out that such deals have collapsed in the past.
”I think there is an element of desperation on the part of the authorities here. Yes, the church can seek divine intervention, but the government needs to bite the bullet and come up with bold economic and political reforms if they are to realise their dream of recovery,” John Robertson, an Harare economic analyst said.
Critics charged that Mugabe is trying to garner votes from the country’s Christian community, pointing to his call for an annual national day of prayer on the country’s calendar.
”What immediately comes to mind is that Mugabe is acknowledging that he has failed and is appealing to God to intervene,” John Makumbe, a Mugabe critic and political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe told ZimOnline. ”That is not the answer. The answer is found in policies that restore the rule of law and solve the issue of Mugabe’s legitimacy.”
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change and several Western governments accuse Mugabe of rigging elections since 2000, a charge the 82-year-old leader denies and instead accuses the West of sabotaging the country’s economy. — ZimOnline