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?

I will split my answers under the following headings: Governance, The Economy, Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy (Ex-Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe, Safety and Security and HIV/AIDS. I will rate him according to the following scale A-Excellent, B-Good, C-Average, D-Below Average, E-Bad and F- Fail. I will conclude with a general grade on his legacy.

Governance: Grade-C. Mbeki has done an average job in governing South Africa. Unfortunately it seems like he cared more about the rest of Africa instead of his homeland. When he was around he struggled with many a controversy. In recent times he has defended the likes of Jackie Selebi, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and seemly fired an innocent man in Jacob Zuma. His cabinet has been full of deadwood and yes men and women. He has been fortunate to have a strong team on the economy in Trevor Manual but he should get some credit on this too. Is Thabo Mbeki a good leader? I don’t really think so, I think he has leadership skills but he is no Statesman. He is no Nkrumah or Nyerere. He maybe an insecure man as he surrounded himself with people that would not challenge him. He failed to motivate his cabinet to get the best results. So the ministries of health, education, home affairs and justice have somewhat struggled due to poor leadership and Mbeki is ultimately to blame.

The Economy: Grade-B. Mbeki has managed to grow the economy at over 4.5% throughout his tenure. I think this is commendable as the world economy has not grown at these rates. I think he has created employment in the middle sectors of the economy. There is a high demand for trained professionals throughout the country. Unfortunately he has not been able to create employment throughout the economy. Some may say he has been focused on protecting big business with lenient economic redistribution policies like Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). In his defence what could he have done? If he was aggressive, big business could have pulled out of South Africa. In saying this I think he underestimates how important South Africa is to the rest if the world. He could have been like Hugo Chavez (President of Venezuela) and Vladimir Putin (President of Russia) and told big Western business that his terms of business were for the benefit of every South African first and not the White minority and a few token Blacks. I think Mbeki like many other African leaders fails to realise that Africa is the mineral powerhouse of the world. But we are so colonised that we think we need the world when the world needs us. I think I am digressing. Thabo Mbeki has managed to maintain the roads and provide access to food for the majority of the country. He has attracted the bulk of Africa’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and he has made South Africa the focal point of African growth. He deserves some applauds for this.

Visit us tomorrow where I will continue to look at the Mbeki legacy, focusing on the Domestic and Foreign Policies Thabo Mbeki implemented.

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