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. A large part of that answer is poverty and poor access to health care. I think all Mbeki was doing was opening up the debate on this issue. He had every right to do so. Should he have given out Anti-Retro Virals (ARVs) instantly? I don’t think so. The cost would have enormous. In saying this, I’m sure some of you are saying then why did he pay R50 billion for arms? That’s a great question and this blows my argument out of the water. Throughout Mbeki’s presidency he has had misplaced priorities. Be it guns instead of better education or health care or a FIFA World Cup instead on better crime fighting systems. So my support for Mbeki on his HIV/AIDS policy has to be qualified. I agree that there has to be more discussion around HIV/AIDS and the effects of ARVs. I agree that we should not fully trust the west on this issue. I think there has to be more research into traditional medicines that can deal with some of the effects of HIV/AIDS. That is not to say everyone should have a resident Sangoma. No, there are many traditional medicines that do not have to be dispensed by Sangoma’s or the likes. It’s all about perceptions, we think that medicine only comes from clinics and hospitals. But Africa was healing itself before clinics and hospitals. Unfortunately for Mbeki his controversial HIV/AIDS policy will be a big part of his legacy.
In conclusion for me Thabo Mbeki gets a C grade for his 8 years as State President and 10 years in charge of the Executive Branch. He could have done a lot more but I think his personal aspirations to have a legacy as big as Mandela’s, Nkrumah’s or Nyerere’s made him lose site of his goals, which was to make South Africa economically and politically better and safer. He did his best but he could have done better. I can only hope the next State President will fulfill the huge expectations we all have for our leaders.
