Abraham McLaughlin

After standing by their man for years, a growing number of Africans are pushing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to change his ways. The shift in attitude could mark a new period in Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis.

Zimbabwe has asked South Africa for a loan of up to $1 billion for fuel, food, and other scarce essentials. South Africa is reportedly considering the loan, but with significant conditions that would require Zimbabwe to embark on economic and political reforms. The tougher response is seen as a small but significant shift away from South Africa’s “quiet diplomacy” approach to Zimbabwe. A new UN report, written by an African, blasts Mugabe’s Operation Restore Order, which Mugabe says was designed to clean up urban areas but opposition parties say was simply strong-arm politics. The UN calls the recent demolition of thousands of homes and shops a “disastrous venture” that has left 700,000 homeless.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya said last week of Mugabe: “This is only about power - and using what issues you think will keep yourself in power.” Such developments signal a shift in Africans’ view of Mugabe, says Chris Maroleng of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa. He says, “We are beginning to actually address the crisis itself - to figure out a way forward.” The African view of the issue is crucial, observers say. Africans - not outside powers - are most likely to defuse the Zimbabwe time-bomb.

The loan is a new opportunity to influence Mugabe, who, in 2000, initiated mass seizure of white farms, which began the economic decline of what had been the breadbasket of Southern Africa. Zimbabwe now risks being expelled from the IMF because of its delinquency on nearly $300 million in loans.

Mbeki can use the loan “as a lever to force Mugabe to engage in negotiations”, says Maroleng. South Africa’s conditions may be why Mugabe was expected to ask Chinese President Hu Jintao for a similarly large loan on his trip to Beijing.

The UN report was authored by Anna Tibaijuka, the head of the world body’s Habitat agency, who is from Tanzania. The fact that it comes from an African may give it added weight on the continent. The report says Zimbabwean officials broke international law in carrying out the Operation.

But Mugabe is still seen as a revolutionary hero in Africa, who ejected a brutal white colonial regime. He has also aggressively tackled the race-charged issue of land reform and continued white dominance over his economy. But he may have gone too far. Besides the troubles caused by Operation Restore Order, unemployment now hovers at abo-ut 70 percent. Inflation hit 164 percent in June, one of the highest rates in the world. The UN says 4 million of the country’s 12 million people are verging on starvation. Fuel is so scarce that few cars reportedly ply the streets of Harare, the normally bustling capital. Even Air Zimbabwe, the national airline, recently had to cancel many flights because of lack of fuel. —The Christian Science Monitor