Mary Ndlovu’s analysis of the situation in Zimbabwe is the clearest I have seen yet and reflects what many in civic society have been saying since well before the March elections.

WOZA, the NCA and the 3,000 civil society representatives who gathered at a People's Convention in Harare in February this year have all called for a transitional authority to address the humanitarian crisis in the country and create an acceptable climate for elections.

The opposition called for a transitional authority and NOT a government of national unity in the stale-mate following the March elections. Alas, the International community with it's lazy media and ill informed advisors did not seem to be able to tell the difference between a government of national unity and a transitional authority. But Zimbabweans know the difference only too well; just as they know about the 20,000 massacred in order to coerce into existence the last government of national unity with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU.

To avoid the crash that Ms Ndlovu sketches in her article, those with responsibility for Zimbabwe's future; SADC leaders, international diplomats and our own national politicians need to take a long hard look at our country's recent history and accept that power sharing in Zimbabwe died with the victims of Gukuruhundi. It is now time for all Zimbabweans at home and abroad to unite with one single voice and call for an internationally approved transitional authority with a limited and clearly defined remit to establish the conditions needed for terror free elections in Zimbabwe.