The following was contributed by Phlumani  M. UMajozi

The 90 –year old President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was elected the Chairman of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, last week. Mugabe will chair the union for one year. Although revered by many across the African continent as a hero who led Zimbabwe to independence, many questions have been asked about the African Union’s decision to elect the man who has ruled his nation with an iron fist for many years. I ask only one question: As chairman of the AU, who does Mugabe really represent?

 
For many, the answer may be simple: He represents the people of Africa. For me it is even simpler. Mugabe represents the old guard. The current chair of the AU is entirely the opposite of what our continent needs right now. There are numerous reasons why I think so.
Firstly, he mismanaged his country’s economy over the past twenty years – which has inflicted misery on millions of his citizens. Mugabe’s policies have worsened the lives of the ordinary Zimbabweans. His policies resulted in severe decline in agricultural productivity, and the sky rocketing inflation that left his citizens desperately poor. Most of his people are not happy – many left the country to search for a better life elsewhere. Most came to South Africa. Estimates of Zimbabweans who live in South Africa range between 1.5 million and 3 million. During the peak of the economic crisis just a few years ago, Zimbabwe was ranked the world’s unhappiest place to live at – all this under President Mugabe’s leadership.
Politicians are expected to better the lives of the people they lead, not worsen them; Mugabe worsened the lives of his people.

Secondly, Mugabe’s dictatorship and oppression of his political opponents has tarnished one of the very beautiful countries in Southern Africa. To cling on to power for more than thirty years, Robert Mugabe has used every technique available at his disposal to strengthen his political power within Zimbabwe. Brutality, intimidation and heart–wrenching political violence under his rule have been reported by organizations such as Amnesty International. This has had a very negative impact on Zimbabwe, not only on political stability but also on the economy as investors pulled out of the country to look for safe alternative investment destinations. Again, the victims of this political repression have been ordinary Zimbabweans who have suffered greatly under Mugabe’s leadership.
Thirdly, fellow Africans have tolerated Mugabe’s tyrannical rule, but many countries, especially the world’s largest economies have not. The man has strained relations with the West; for more than ten years, he and his accomplices in the ZANU PF have suffered severe sanctions; due to human rights abuses under his regime. This will cause complications for Africa as it tries to strengthen its relations with the world. We are led by a man who has a terrible record on human rights; these countries will find it difficult to work with us on the fight against poverty, the fight against terrorism, the elimination of disease, and areas where we can cooperate to strengthen trade.
Africa is emerging. The continent is among the world’s fastest growing economies. It needs leaders who will propel it to prosperity – who will uphold human rights, obey the rule of law, champion democracy and pursue free market economics. This starts right at the top – from leaders of the African Union down to local governments in various African countries. Robert Mugabe does not meet these standards. His record speaks for itself.
This continent  looks forward to the future. But the election of this man as Chairman of the AU is a step backward. His mentality is still stuck in the past – always threatening his people with the return of colonialism. This is the main reason why some Africans admire him – he’s been tough on the West. How does that better the lives of the ordinary Zimbabweans who seek prosperity and peace? I do not know.
Robert Mugabe is not the type of leader Africans need right now. Yes, he led Zimbabwe to independence, but he stained his reputation during his dictatorial rule. His radical economic policies were not aimed at eradicating poverty, but they were aimed at enriching the prominent members of the ZANU PF; evidence suggests so. I have met many Zimbabweans since I was an undergraduate student at Rhodes University, not even a single one praised Mugabe’s leadership. They all told me about the plight they had to endure in their native country. This tyrant does not represent the modern, young, emerging Africa; he belongs to the past.

My biggest worry is that we continue to roll out the red carpets for dictators who violate human rights, and suppress economic freedoms of our fellow citizens. We need to stop this. If we want Africa to prosper, we need to: uphold human rights, champion liberty, pursue free market economy. To do this, the first step will be to make sure that next time; we do not elect Robert Mugabe, or a similar character, as Chairman of the AU.