Brian Kagoro, chief executive of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, told a GIBS forum on "Problems and Prospects for Zimbabwe", that the current round of mass action would not succeed. He added that President Robert Mugabe could not live forever and would not be able to rule through force indefinitely.
"Compromises will have to be made, and they may not be popular at street level," Kagoro said.
Supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have mounted a week of mass action this week, calling workers out on strike and leading street marches in protest at Mugabe's policies.
Kagoro said the best way forward was for Mugabe to end state-sponsored violence and open political space so that Zimbabweans could debate solutions to their problems.
Kagoro said it was time to thank Mugabe for the good he had done and ask him to step down.
Institute director Nick Binedell agreed that the Mugabe era started well, with a focus on rural service delivery and education. But then the rot set in.
He blamed much of Mugabe's accumulation of power on a failure of leadership in both Zimbabwe and abroad.
"Democracy is more complex than voting and a constitution. If there are not restraining mechanisms you may find yourself on the road to authoritarianism, to use a polite word".
Binedell said there had been a failure of leadership not only in the ruling Zanu-PF party but also within the business community, the union movement, and broader civil society. In addition the international community, in Africa and beyond, could have done more in the last decade to reinforce democracy and bring about transformation within Zimbabwe, he said.
Binedell also criticised many whites in Zimbabwe for having remained "Rhodesians" and for failing to become Zimbabweans.
As a result the vast chasm in outlook that existed between the white-owned, white-run economy and the aspirations of black Zimbabweans before 1980 continued after independence - and up to today.
Binedell said he and a small business delegation had visited the country about four weeks ago.
He added that he has visited Zimbabwe annually since 1980, barring a three-year period he lived in the US.
"It requires no insight to say they are facing a major structural crisis. What shocked me, however, was the rapid deterioration in the political economy. It is extraordinary to see how changed the economy is structurally," Binedell said of his most recent visit.
He said the situation in Zimbabwe was strongly reminiscent of South Africa in 1986 with visible repression, censorship of the media and the reality on the street versus the denial that there was anything wrong in government circles.
"If the average South African understood to what extent civil rights had been eroded, South Africa in general would change its view on Zimbabwe and what we should do". – Sapa.
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