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Yesterday - in a cynical ploy - he announced that the minimum wage

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Yesterday - in a cynical ploy - he announced that the minimum wage for domestic workers will rise tenfold. It is little wonder inflation is running in triple figures.That Zimbabwe is going backwards while many other African nations are gradually embracing democracy and freeing up their economies is a tragedy. And yet South Africa, the region's most influential power, refuses to recognise this. President Thabo Mbeki is reluctant to voice even the slightest criticism of his despotic neighbour.

When Zimbabwe won independence in 1980, it was one of the most developed nations in Africa. He has been harassed through the courts, arrested many times and physically intimidated - but he is determined to keep the pressure on Mr Mugabe.One of the reasons they - and many other Zimbabweans - do not capitulate in the face of this intimidation is because they are angry at the way their country has been wrecked. And that is all the more reason to admire the bravery of those who challenge Mr Mugabe's rule. Archbishop Pius Ncube called for a "non-violent popular mass uprising" over the weekend By doing so, he made himself a target for Mr Mugabe's thugs. But this is something the archbishop is used to; he has received many death threats in the past The same is true of Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader.

But while the opposition cannot win, there is a real danger that the government will be strengthened. If Zanu PF wins a two-thirds majority in parliament, it could change the constitution - making it even less democratic. And there are fears that Mr Mugabe plans to use victory to push through restrictions on non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe, consolidating further his grip on power.This is a bleak time for Zimbabwe. Many Zimbabweans believe the defeat of the MDC has already been determined - just as it was four years ago. Opposition supporters in famine-struck areas are being denied food aid.

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