In Part 3 of my look at Mbeki’s Legacy, I focus on two key areas Mbeki did badly in, the issue of Zimbabwe and Safety and Security in South Africa.
Zimbabwe: Grade-F. Mbeki has failed the people of Zimbabwe by continually codling Robert Mugabe. He has failed to deal with the issue of Zimbabwe head on. His ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ was a complete and utter failure. In the last 10 years Zimbabwe has digressed into an economic and political basket case. Mbeki has turned a blind eye to all of this. What is strange is that he wants be an African statesman but he has completely failed to deal with his closest economic and political ally. No matter what some may say, Zimbabwe is South Africa’s most important ally. Zimbabwe is South Africa’s largest African trade partner. Zimbabwe provides most of South Africa’s middle management. Zimbabwe is the second largest Platinum producer in the world. That platinum is processed in South Africa. So why would Mbeki tacitly allow for Zimbabwe’s continual demise? Only he knows. From the outside looking in, it looks like Mbeki admires Mugabe. So he can’t publicly chastise an elder, a former African statesman, a man who has large support in South African townships. Mbeki has the economic power to end Mugabe’s reign but he refuses too. Yes some may say it’s Zimbabbwe’s domestic issue but weren’t the issues in Burundi, DRC and Ivory Coast domestic issues? Misplaced cultural respect and fear have led to one of Mbeki’s largest failures.
Safety and Security: Grade- F. Mbeki has completely failed on this most important issue. Violent crime is still rampant in South Africa. Mbeki has failed to empower the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) to do their job. Instead he has put the likes of Jackie Selebi, who have shady connections to the underworld in charge of much of the crime in South Africa. Mbeki has failed to protect the mothers, wives and sisters of this country. Violent crime against women is really bad. The government does however argue that crime is falling every year. But lets be honest a fall of between 1-5% is not much. Murder rates are still very high, some of the highest in the world. Unfortunately for Mbeki crime is indirectly connected to high unemployment and poor access to education especially higher education, people will steal and kill to survive and they do. His failure to effectively deal with crime should be a huge part of Mbeki’s legacy.
Tomorrow I will conclude my look into Mbeki’s Legacy by looking at how Mbeki tackled the HIV and AIDS issues in South Africa and giving you my overall conclusion.
