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UN joke

Or cutting your nose to spite your face.

Zimbabwe Environment Minister, Francis Nheme, has been elected to lead the UN's commission on Sustainable Economic Development (CSD). The secret ballot among CSD members at the UN headquarters in New York brought a majority of 26 to 21 in favour of Zimbabwe. There were also three abstentions. It seems that the country was put forward for the role by other African countries members of the commission.

EU and US representatives, and in my view all other reasonable parties and observers were opposed to the nomination. There were however little hope of the election not taking place, it seems. African members of the country seem to have been set on going forward with their choice as a way to show that they could not be told what to do by the west.

This means that the commission, which is set to deal mostly with the huge problems faced by many country on the African continent, will be headed by the country with the worst possible record.

Unemployement in Zimbabwe runs at 80%, and inflation is the highest in the world, at a ridiculous 2,200%.

What can Mogabe and his regime teach other countries in terms of sustainable development?

The whole situation could be funny if the lives of so many people were not on the line.


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