An Incomplete Analysis on Mugabe

ALLOW me to give my opinion based on the letter by PN Mwetulundila (‘Counting the Cost of Mugabe’s Visit’, March 6, 2007).

Though I fully respect his freedom of expression as guaranteed by the country’s Constitution, Mwetulundila, a layperson as he called himself, gave us an incomplete analysis of how much resources were pumped into the visit of President Mugabe. It would have been complete if he gave the public a comparison of what the cost is for similar visits by Namibian (or other nations’) heads of state when visiting other countries.Talking of traffic delays for example: is it so unusual for normal traffic to come to a standstill when any Presidential motorcade passes? We had many presidential visits in this country by heads of state by countries other than Zimbabwe (Hu Jintao of China is one recent example), but we have not seen any similar analysis from such laypersons as Mwetulundila.And as for the costs that resulted from Mugabe’s landing delay, the nation would have loved to hear figures of how much resources are lost from landing delays other than that of Mugabe.Or are we now using the Mugabe visit to justify the losses that Air Namibia is making? Here are a few figures to reflect on of American President George W.Bush when he visited Stockton, California to raise funds for Republican Richard Pombo who was running for re-election late last year in the US.250 Stockton police employees, $54 000 for 900 hours of overtime for Stockton police, $10 000 in costs for Stockton Parks and Recreation Department, $4 000 in overtime for Stockton Fire Department, $2 200 for Stockton public works employees, 50 rooms on the top floor of the Radisson Hotel, and eight schoolbuses used to block traffic.I know the US is rich, but is it worth the money for a party political campaign? Mwetulundila has mentioned a very important, though shocking, revelation of car accidents that resulted from the City Police cars rushing through red traffic lights.Can you attest to that? If by any chance this was true it would still make little difference as we see on a daily basis City Police cars going though red lights even when there are no presidential visits.Why all of a sudden did it become an issue on the week of Mugabe’s visit? The only reliable aspect reflected in your article is that Zimbabweans were leaving their country for others.But did you ever try to take a critical analysis of why is this happening? It is because of the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by some of the major Western countries, including the EU and Commonwealth.And it is no secret that this came in the wake of the land reform programme in that country.The country’s economic situation has dramatically changed to negative, thanks to the Western sanctions.Zimbabwe had one of the fastest growing economies in the region before such sanctions were imposed but today it is the ordinary people of Zimbabwe that have to suffer.Let us not refuse to think.Toivo Ndjembela Helsinki, FinlandIt would have been complete if he gave the public a comparison of what the cost is for similar visits by Namibian (or other nations’) heads of state when visiting other countries.Talking of traffic delays for example: is it so unusual for normal traffic to come to a standstill when any Presidential motorcade passes? We had many presidential visits in this country by heads of state by countries other than Zimbabwe (Hu Jintao of China is one recent example), but we have not seen any similar analysis from such laypersons as Mwetulundila.And as for the costs that resulted from Mugabe’s landing delay, the nation would have loved to hear figures of how much resources are lost from landing delays other than that of Mugabe.Or are we now using the Mugabe visit to justify the losses that Air Namibia is making? Here are a few figures to reflect on of American President George W.Bush when he visited Stockton, California to raise funds for Republican Richard Pombo who was running for re-election late last year in the US.250 Stockton police employees, $54 000 for 900 hours of overtime for Stockton police, $10 000 in costs for Stockton Parks and Recreation Department, $4 000 in overtime for Stockton Fire Department, $2 200 for Stockton public works employees, 50 rooms on the top floor of the Radisson Hotel, and eight schoolbuses used to block traffic.I know the US is rich, but is it worth the money for a party political campaign? Mwetulundila has mentioned a very important, though shocking, revelation of car accidents that resulted from the City Police cars rushing through red traffic lights.Can you attest to that? If by any chance this was true it would still make little difference as we see on a daily basis City Police cars going though red lights even when there are no presidential visits.Why all of a sudden did it become an issue on the week of Mugabe’s visit? The only reliable aspect reflected in your article is that Zimbabweans were leaving their country for others.But did you ever try to take a critical analysis of why is this happening? It is because of the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by some of the major Western countries, including the EU and Commonwealth.And it is no secret that this came in the wake of the land reform programme in that country.The country’s economic situation has dramatically changed to negative, thanks to the Western sanctions.Zimbabwe had one of the fastest growing economies in the region before such sanctions were imposed but today it is the ordinary people of Zimbabwe that have to suffer.Let us not refuse to think.Toivo Ndjembela Helsinki, Finland