Slip of the tongue or tasteless wind up?

From LabourList

LabourList readers have been reacting to Tory MEP Roger Helmer’s response to Glenis Willmott’s post on Europe yesterday.

Roger said:

“We believe that government intervention in pricing in consumer markets is always a bad thing. It is what Robert Mugabe does in Southern Rhodesia — and then wonders why there is no bread on the shelves”.

Is this a joke or does Roger really still refer to Zimbabwe in outdated colonial language?