Harare diary: All eyes on Egypt

Esther (not her real name), 28, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, is writing a regular diary on the challenges of leading a normal life.

Zimbabwe is suffering from an acute economic crisis. The country has the world's highest rate of inflation and just one in five has an official job.

Every Zimbabwean with media access is following the African Union summit going on in Egypt with baited breath following Friday's election.

The day itself was a non-event really - with only one candidate, the result was a forgone conclusion.

I watched the ceremony as it was broadcast live on TV and marvelled at the state's efficiency

That did not stop people from going to the polls though: Some to vote their beloved president back into office; others to vote for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, even though that was futile as he had withdrawn.

Yet others voted to avoid the much talked about retribution for not voting.

A friend told me he was so overcome with frustration in the polling booth, he gouged out Robert Mugabe's eyes on his ballot paper.

By Sunday, the results were out, which was pretty amazing considering it took the electoral commission five weeks to release the 29 March presidential election results.

And 30 minutes after the announcement, Mr Mugabe was being sworn in as president.

The result was not a surprise as it was a one-horse race

I watched the ceremony as it was broadcast live on TV and marvelled at the state's efficiency.

All the Zanu-PF dignitaries were gathered at State House together with the chief justice ready to do the swearing-in.

We should have known all the threats and condemnation were not going to stop Mr Mugabe, after all that is exactly why some people admire him so.

He just does not care what "the international community" has to say.

On the other hand, the reeling Zimbabwean is looking to that very same international community to do something to get out of this mess.

I can hear the Mugabe loyalists out there asking: "What mess?"

'Disaster'

But people are frustrated. World food and oil prices are rising and together with hyperinflation you have disaster.

The swearing-in ceremony was a slick and quickly organised event

Prices change here every week for most commodities and every day for goods pegged to the US dollar such as fuel.

Five litres of fuel is selling for Z$200bn at the moment; it was Z$170bn on Monday and it will probably be Z$300bn by the end of the week.

At one private school in Harare, parents have been asked to pay supplementary fees of Z$2.1 trillion by the end of the week, and Z$3 trillion if they pay next week.

That's how fast our dollar is losing value. You cannot afford to extend credit in local currency.

Twenty eight years of Zanu-PF rule has brought us here, where will another five years take us?

Only God can remove me from power Robert Mugabe

So my family was really excited when the AU summit started, thinking, surely this is it?

Everyone has seen the photos of pre-27 June election violence; African election observers condemned the poll as not being a reflection of the Zimbabweans' will by African standards; a lot of noises have been coming out of London, Washington and the UN in New York and the Italian ambassador has been recalled over the poll.

Surely now there is no way anyone can stand by Mr Mugabe, and thus declare that in his shoes, they would have acted exactly the same?

Yet I watched one foreign minister, from Angola I think, saying condemnation was not the answer.

Granted, Mr Mugabe was very involved in bringing about peace to a number of African nations, and some people cannot see past that history.

So, it is looking like the eagerly awaited help from the international community that we were banking on is not coming at all.

We are fast losing hope in them, especially the African part of that community.

It is looking more like Mr Mugabe knew what he was talking about when he said: "Only God can remove me from power.

Esther answers your questions:

Q: Esther, I cried when I read about how people were being beaten. I also cried when I saw Morgan Tsvangirai withdrawing but I later understood why. The man is not hungry for power nor money - he just wants what is good for Zimbabweans. Tell me what you think about the 27 June poll results. It is so surprising that they came out so quickly. I smell a fish.
Primrose, Manama , Bahrain

A: It was amazing wasn't it? We spent five weeks waiting for the 29 March results, and just 36 hours waiting for the 27 June ones, and the electoral commission actually apologised "for the delay". This is exactly what the opposition is crying foul over - all the cards are in Zanu-PF's hands. And for all the suspicions, our hands are tied, the electoral commission will not investigate itself, and it is 100% Zanu-PF.

Q: Esther, now that Robert Mugabe is back in the chair, where would you rather be and what is the solution to Mugabe's reign over the masses? Is it not time for the masses to rise up against the regime and oust Mugabe and his generals. Why must the farmers farm if their produce only goes to Zanu-PF supporters? Zimbabwe is a great country and it used to flourish. The masses need to tell him that it was not the colonials that caused the famine in Zimbabwe.
Ewan, Johannesburg, South Africa

A: This week, I have really been thinking I need to leave Zimbabwe. A picture of life here - I have three siblings, and none of them live here. So I could move to any of three countries, and start a new life there. I never wanted to, I felt some people had to stay and make this place tick again, and I wanted to be one of those people. I doubt we will ever see an uprising in this country, because of the fear of the security forces, a lack of private media through which the message to rise up can be communicated, a general consensus that this is the 21st century and governments are not changed that way anymore, and a very real belief that God (or if you will, a higher power) will intervene at some point. About the farmers, remember that most farm land is now in the hands of Zanu-PF stalwarts so we will not see them stopping production in protest. The masses do know "Britain & her allies" have nothing to do with where we are as a nation. That's just talk from leaders who are failing to acknowledge their shortcomings.

Q: Hi Esther, I really hope the situation for you and your compatriots improves soon. I was wondering if there is any ill feeling towards Simba Makoni, or if there was a feeling that if he hadn't have stood then Mugabe would already have been unequivocally defeated? Also how much of the MDC support is pro-MDC and their policies and how much is "anything but Mugabe"?
Steve, Walsall , UK

A: The ill feeling is, or shall I say was, towards Arthur Mutambara, leader of the one-time breakaway faction of the MDC. He came back to the main MDC but only after the 29 March election. He endorsed Simba Makoni for the first round, and thus cost Mr Tsvangirai a number of votes. But that could be beside the point. Would Mugabe have really allowed a result where the opposition won the presidential election outright to stand? I doubt that very much. Most people here, myself included, are not well versed with MDC policies. It is a lot of "anything but Zanu-PF".

Q: Esther, have the Zimbabweans learnt from this election that a Western-sponsored opposition party will never rule Zimbabwe? What Zimbabwe needs is a change of policy within the opposition and to call-off sanctions. If you let the opposition call more sanctions, the people of Zimbabwe will be affected not the leaders. Do you agree with me Esther?
Rusunguko, London , UK

A: No, I am afraid I do not. Are you aware that Zanu was sponsored by "the West" during the liberation struggle, and that talks between them and the Rhodesian government were not mediated by Africans, but by "Britain and her allies"? The sanctions so touted as the cause of our economic decline are actually travel restrictions on a few individuals. Support from IMF and the World Bank stopped because of failure to repay certain loans in the agreed time frame. So sanctions are not an issue. Who rules Zimbabwe should be decided at the polling stations, in free and fair elections, with no brutalisation, no atrocities, no intimidation. It has nothing to do with a party's funding, but rather what hope it offers for the people's future.

Q: Esther, please can you tell me what people are thinking about the old man Mugabe? What could happen if Morgan Tsvangirai does not accept what Mugabe offers him � i.e. as a minister or something like that? Why are the war veterans supporting Mugabe?
Alberto, Soyo , Angola

A: If I were Morgan Tsvangirai, I would not accept a ministerial post in Mugabe's cabinet, primarily because the MDC has majority in parliament, and won the last presidential election that was reasonably fair. Any power sharing would have to reflect that fact. War veterans support Mugabe to maintain their lifestyles. While the rest of the nation buys fuel at the day's equivalent of the US dollar, they get it at Z$80,000 per litre, which is equivalent to 0.00032 US cents per litre at today's rate. So while a everyone else will pay Z$200bn for five litres of petrol, a party loyalist will get that same quantity for Z$400,000, which won't buy you a stick of gum in the supermarket.

Q: Hi Esther, I would like to know how are HIV patients coping, in a country like Zimbabwe?
Godfrey, Birmingham , UK

A: Quite a number of private organisations are running really good anti-retroviral drug programmes, but for those not on their registers, life must be quite a challenge. Drugs are now hideously expensive, if you can get them from the pharmacy.

Q: This is purely propaganda for MDC! After all you are being paid by the imperialist to do their dirty job! What else can you write about Mugabe! Mugabe is a hero for ever!
Felix, Cape Town , South Africa

A: I don't mean to be rude, but anyone who still calls Mugabe a hero after seeing the pictures of victims of post 29 March and pre-27 June elections violence is beyond belief.

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