Editorial: A Breadbasket destroyed

As the US elections continue to dominate the media alongside Northern Rock and Castro's resignation, it can be easy to forget about one of the great tragedies of recent decades that is continuing before our very eyes in Africa. Yes, I am talking about Zimbabawe once labelled the breadbasket of Africa and now a desolute, poverty stricken nightmare ruled by the iron fist of a murderous despot, Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe, whose successful guerilla campaign against the leader of the apartheid regime in Rhodesia, Ian Smith, and has led ever since 1980 has overseen a disastrous economic collapse leading to mass poverty, famine and deaths due to an inability of many Zimbabweans to afford treatment for the HIV/Aids epidemic which has mercilessly resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. It is this economic collapse which has led to me writing this post today, why? Because of a BBC News story, entitled "Zimbabwe inflation hits 100,000%". This report shows how torrid life has got for ordinary Zimbabweans, with 80% of the population living in poverty and a mass exodus of 3 million people to neighbouring South Africa.

As we sit down in our warm houses with little inflation, high levels of employment and a relatively prosperous economy it is worthwhile remembering the plight of those people. For them every day is a challenge to survive under a corrupt and malicious dictatorship that has destroyed their country, once the hope of Africa but now the shame of a continent. Mugabe's record on human rights is also appalling with his Government attacking and murdering opponents, homosexuals and even charity workers sent to aid the ailing population.

Next month President Mugabe will be standing for re-election in an election where the results are already known. He faces opposition from Simba Makoni, his former Finance Minister, and the leader of the Movement for Democratic change, Morgan Tsvangirai whose arrest and brutal treatment at the hands of Mugabe's police and security forces caused international outrage. The only people who matter aren't Zimbabweans or even Mugabe himself, it is the South African Government which has failed to use the authority and influence at its disposal to remove Mugabe and ensure even basic levels of human rights and living standards.

As the Presidential race in America moves on and issues of the US economy and Iraq dominate the agenda, the successful candidate must put Zimbabwe at the top of the agenda as well. The people of that tragic land need salvation and their resiliance and hope can only last so long without real action by the world's leaders. If that candidate does take on this mission, they can make their name in history as the person who saved not just the next generation, but a country from the horror of Mugabe and his regime, only then can a continent which has seen so much death and tyranny be healed.

-Adam Evans, Chief Political Correspondent