 Zimbabwe's 27th anniversary of independence on Wednesday should be marked with a plan clearly setting out successive steps to restore democracy and good governance to that country, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said.
"The 27th anniversary of Zimbabwean independence ... is the most dismal in that country's history," DA spokesperson Douglas Gibson said in a statement.
President Robert Mugabe had turned one of the "jewels of Africa", to use former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere's description, into a disaster area.
Life continued, becoming worse for Zimbabweans instead of better, and Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party should accept full responsibility for what they had done, Gibson said.
"This anniversary day may act as an impetus, spurring the African Union and SADC [Southern African Development Community] to start taking steps which will result in real change.
"Surely Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, can no longer sit patiently, hoping for something to turn up."
The average Zimbabwean already faced 80% unemployment, shortages of wheat, sugar and petrol, massive HIV/Aids infection rates, and a one-in-three high school drop-out rate.
The country would also soon have to contend with a wage freeze, a fuel-price hike, and inflation predicted to reach 5 000% by the end of 2007.
These were all signs of an impending disaster for Zimbabwe that would affect the entire population and the region, he said.
The word from the office of the South African Presidency was that there was "some movement" in President Thabo Mbeki's mediation with the Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change).
"We have heard all of this before, and the situation continues to worsen.
"Therefore, we call on President Mbeki to announce what has been achieved and what has failed in the mediation, and to finally admit that the last seven years of quiet diplomacy have in fact failed."
A new approach was necessary or else ordinary, vulnerable Zimbabweans would be the ones that suffered.
"The time has arrived for a new road map for Zimbabwe, which clearly marks out successive steps aimed at restoring democracy and good governance to that benighted country," Gibson said.
Familiar broadside
In a speech on the eve of independence celebrations, Mugabe fired a now familiar broadside against Britain and its outgoing Prime Minister, Tony Blair, whom he accused of being behind a push to topple him from power.
"The man is about to retire and wants a last push in Zimbabwe," Mugabe told hundreds of schoolchildren and teachers drawn from selected schools.
Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader at 83, also branded his domestic opponents as "evil-doers who act as his [Blair's] representatives here", who were party to a campaign "to make Zimbabwe a colony again".
A recent crackdown on the MDC, including the arrest and assault of its leader Morgan Tsvangirai, led to renewed criticism from the West, which imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his immediate coterie over allegations that he rigged his 2002 re-election.
Harare-based economist Victor Zirebgwa said few people were likely to celebrate given the scale of the problems they were now confronted with.
"What is there to celebrate for? People are hard pressed by the economic and political crisis," he said.
"We just hope for a miracle to be seen, but we do not know when it will come."
However, government chief whip Rugare Gumbo said Independence Day should still be a source of pride and serve as an opportunity to recall the days of white-only rule during the regime of then-prime minister Ian Smith.
"We are now masters of our own destiny. It's a pity that some people politicise Independence Day," Gumbo told Agence France-Presse. -- Sapa, AFP | 
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