Patience and money running out

A case in point is the blatant disregard for the rule of law demonstrated by the ministry of information in denying four journalists access to the COMESA summit despite the fact that there was a court order to the effect that they should be allowed in without accreditation from the Media and Information Commission, which has been declared defunct.

While Morgan Tsvangirai desperately tries to persuade governments and aid agencies in Western capitals that things have changed in Zimbabwe, they are reading reports
of hordes of Zanu (PF) thugs continuing to invade white-owned farms, and taking the law into their own hands while the police stand idly by.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police seems determined to wreck Tsvangirais fund-raising tour by arresting two journalists going about their business, taking a photograph of a demonstration. The ZRP may not know it, but this is what journalists the world over do. It is not a crime in any civilised country.

And only a few weeks ago, the ZRP was launching its Service Charter asking people to believe that it had suddenly become a professional force! They cannot expect to be taken seriously until they stop arresting innocent civilians for doing their jobs.

The Dutch have already made their position quite clear they will not untie the purse strings until meaningful change is evident in Harare. As they pointed out, the aberrant governor of the Reserve Bank, Gideon Gono, is still in office. In addition, state security forces still behave like the thugs they have always been with utter impunity and human rights abuses are rampant.

Tsvangirai can expect the same sort of message from the United States and most of Europe. They cannot see that things have really changed. And neither can we.

It is up to the Zanu (PF) element to stop dragging its heels and to get serious about implementing the economic, political and social reforms it has already agreed. Patience is running out and so is the money. The longer this nonsense this carries on, the slimmer our chances of economic assistance become.