HIV/AIDS: Grade-C+. This I think is a controversial stance. Mbeki has been slammed worldwide on this issue. I think Mbeki asked the right questions about HIV/AIDS and unfortunately he was misunderstood. I personally believe that poverty and HIV/AIDS work well together. I think there is a lot that has not been said about why Africa has the highest AIDS rate in the world. Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
Today I will be looking at Thabo Mbeki’s Domestic and Foreign Policies, following on from yesterdays insight into his legacy regarding his governance and the economy.
Domestic Policy: Grade-D. Mbeki has not done a great job on domestic policy. He has allowed the economy to flourish at the expense of cross-class employment. Education, health care and safety have remained the same and in some cases have become worse. Read the rest of this entry »
Thabo Mbeki was the second president of a free South Africa. In the coming months and years a lot will be written and said about this man. Unlike Mandela his legacy is not that clear cut. Mbeki has done some good and some bad. So I thought I would share what his legacy is to me. Firstly, it is not an understatement to say Mbeki has been the face of the Executive Branch of government since 1994. Mandela was a figure head, the man who took all the accolades while Mbeki was charged with difficult task of implementing democracy. So how did he do? Read the rest of this entry »
The news media has been a buzz with news of Cyril Ramaphosa’s nomination by a Cape Town based ANC branch for the ANC presidency. Tokyo Sexwale is also nominated bringing the number of nominations to 4, including Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki. A few weeks ago InTheNews.co.za asked the question Who is Your President? The writer said that Zuma was the only serious candidate for the ANC presidency. The writer went as far as calling the other front runners ‘the rest’. It was Zuma and ‘the rest’. So who are ‘the rest’? Why are they not serious contenders? Is it because the dark horses could just be smoke screens? Smoke screens to give an illusion of democratic process? Read the rest of this entry »
The past two weeks have been filled with numerous news stories about Thabo Mbeki, be it his indirect takeover attempt of the Sunday Times’ parent company or his autobiography, a Dream Deferred by Mark Gevisser. A lot if not too much has been said about the president of our republic. So let me chime in with my thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »
While they are busy busting drugs at OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport is having its own drama. On Wednesday, a Nationwide airplane lost an engine during take off, forcing it to turn back and land again. This follows the drama with the SAA airplane veering of the run way last week Friday. Two incidents in the space of a couple of days: Is there something wrong with Cape Town International? Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday, police at OR Tambo International Airport found R30 million worth of cocaine. This is an amazingly high amount of cocaine as it totaled almost 66kgs. Whoever was transporting it tried by all means to get it through the airport officials without it being noticed as it was found wrapped in brown tape and hidden in a wooden crane under some light bulbs. Police also recovered R50 million worth of cocaine at the same airport on Friday on a plane from Brazil. So in the space of two days, R80 million worth of cocaine has been recovered at the airport. It makes you wonder how much is actually going through undetected? Read the rest of this entry »
One would have thought that after South Africa had won the World Cup, there would be nothing but positives coming out of the victory but we are seeing a whole lot of cracks coming out now, something which we do not need at this moment in time when as a nation we are meant to be celebrating being World Champions. First it was the departure of coach Jake White and now there is the controversy of Brian Habana giving his Springbok blazer to Australian, Eddie Jones who was the Springboks technical director during the World Cup. Read the rest of this entry »
It took 12 years for the Springboks to win their second Rugby World Cup (RWC) and I am sure many of you vaguely remember where you where when the final whistle blew in France a couple of weeks ago. I am sure alcohol flowed across the streets of Pretoria, Sandton, Durban, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. I am not sure how much of it flowed in Thembisa, Orange Farm and the many townships in South Africa. So I have been asking myself, who really won the RWC, was it 13 White guys and two Coloureds or South Africa as a whole? Read the rest of this entry »
