Africa

Paul Thomas casts a sad eye on Africa:

If the reception granted Robert Mugabe at this week’s meeting of the African Union wasn’t obscene, then we might as well retire the word.

There wasn’t a hint of censure for the old fraud who stole an election from under the world’s nose, the thug dispatching goons to whip voters into line, the lunatic ideologue who turned the breadbasket of Africa into a barren land, the psychopath who preens and struts in tailor-made suits while the currency collapses and his people starve.

Yes, it is not just South Africa who are implictly supporting Mugabe.

Instead there was the silence of collusion and hugs all round. Instead President Omar Bongo of Gabon called Mugabe a “hero”.

To understand where Bongo’s coming from, it’s necessary to grasp that for many African leaders the object of the exercise is to cling to power by whatever means for as long as possible, in the process making yourself obscenely rich at the expense of your compatriots.

The continent does sadly suffer from a deficit of leaders who truly beleive in public service.

Africa often seems trapped in a post-colonial mindset in which self-determination is seen as its own reward, even when it delivers misery. Black pride has eclipsed good government, tribalism has eclipsed democracy, power has eclipsed legitimacy and greed has eclipsed public service.

The tribalism is especially a problem. Few leaders can get power without tribal support, and then they govern in the interests of their tribe instead of the nation.