“A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”  Proverbs 22:3.

No leader no matter how hated or reviled is pure evil, even Ian Smith of formerly Southern Rhodesia now the Republic of Zimbabwe, realized that to get freedom one has to break from colonial powers. Zimbabwe, like Belize, came out of a struggle against colonialism. It wielded its young charismatic leaders at the exposed neck of imperialist rule and under the expectations of change rode the backs of Animal Farm-like leadership.

Admittedly, the historical itinerary of Zimbabwe’s nationhood is significantly more horrid than that of our beloved twenty seven year old Belize, however, a translated comparison of this country’s descent into chaos under a misguided and oppressive regime, foreshadows - for the prudent pessimist - an alarming political and economic future to which we dare not risk exposure less we simply ignore the lesson, pass on and perish.

Possibly owing to Bob Marley’s legendary reggae chant, Zimbabwe is one of the more identifiable African countries, especially for conscious Caribbean music lovers.  This landlocked republic in the heel of the continent was one of Southern Africa’s most prosperous countries, envied for its bountiful spread of lush soil and gushing rivers. It was a country of transcendent promise and strategic geopolitical placement, like Belize. And like Belize, the Republic of Zimbabwe was birthed in the early nineteen eighties, her people then gaining their political and economic independence from white majority rule.

Zimbabwe’s first black leader, Robert Mugabe, arose to political prominence announcing like the Angel Gabriel, his middle name actually,  heralding real change, real reform and a world of possibilities.  The nationalist leader who was branded a “Marxist terrorist” by the status quo led a mutiny against political control. Mugabe, however, misinterpreted the adulation of the masses, which he manipulated into an absolute endorsement for absolute power. He was his country’s soi-disant savior, except as it turned out the country needed saving from him.

Lawyer/politician Mugabe earned, not one, but two law degrees which accompany the other four he holds, but his early promise was perverted by his overarching and outsized ego. Sounds familiar, but Dickie seh ‘no call no name, caller.’ Like our own version, who spent the last ten years imprisoned in powerless, Mugabe spent his ten in the penitentiary distilling his hate and planning his own gospel of ‘quitar.’   

Upon his ascension to his republican heaven, Robert Gabriel embarked on an aggressive program of land reform or as it is better known around here – quitar. The genesis of that program boasted noble aims and righteous justifications but was quickly revealed to be nothing but naked lust for burning nepotism and greed.  Fifteen years after this was first begun, Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a hard currency shortage, which has led to skyrocketing cost of living increases and chronic shortages in imported fuel and consumer goods. President Mugabe's critics blame his program of land reform.

Between the spaces of echoing Sunday school lessons, which reinforced the axiom that nothing is new under the sun, is this columnist’s commitment to a third form history teacher to never forget that the one thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history. 

The laggard UDP administration’s myopic and slipshod policy to effect a freeze on the issuance of land titles coupled with a microscopic examination of any title issued by the previous government will prove disastrous. It will tarnish our national reputation with any potential investor and has already caused considerable ripples within the local agro-industrial community, not to mention  in how facile a manner it has been the complicit accomplice to the robbery of the hopes of poor Belizeans who  were finally able to own a piece of the jewel. Even more cruel was the fraud perpetrated on those who wanted desperately to believe that the land which was ‘quitared’ would be given to them. Not so! See Mugabe above… and imagine the possibilities.

No less a personage than this Prime Minister’s own Attorney General has publicly expressed his misgivings about the legalities of his own government’s misguided land title policy. If the road to economic hell is paved with good intentions, then no doubt this administration’s only partially revealed/soon to be fully exposed bad intentions will take us to the outer depths of Hades.

The blisteringly shameful teeth sucking at the binding authority of the legal system including Court rulings is a disturbing peek into an unfolding series of unfortunate events that causes the fear that there is a decision up there to undermine the very rule of law. Who stole Mugabe’s play book?

No tyrants here linger, despots must flee this tranquil haven of democracy.