Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has called the resignation of South African President, Thabo Mbeki ‘devastating’. President Thabo Mbeki is the SADC appointed mediator on the Zimbabwean dialogue between Zanu PF and the MDC. He successfully brokered the power-sharing deal between the Zanu PF and the two MDC factions.
President Mbeki has always been criticised for the way he handled the Zimbabwean crisis, which may have resulted in the prolonged suffering of the people of Zimbabwe.
“It’s devastating news that President Thabo Mbeki is no longer the president of South Africa, but that is the action of the South African people. Who are we to judge [them]? But it is very disturbing,” he reportedly told journalists on the sidelines of a United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
Whatever the problem President Mbeki had in his own country, South Africans know better and if they are in support of his resignation, so be it. I respect Mr Mbeki for realising that he is no longer wanted and accepting to leave office, rather than try and force people to like him.
Obsession with power is one problem that is destroying the Africa continent, we have leaders who refuse to accept that there are no longer wanted, and some who are prepared to kill, so they remain in power.
Mr Mbeki had his own problems with ANC leader Mr Zuma, but was that his major down fall? Was Mr Mbeki really in touch with the ordinary South Africans, did he really identify with the ordinary South Africans? It seems Mr Mbeki did not do enough for the ordinary man in the street, enough to help the more South Africans who live in poverty.
His policy on HIV/Aids and his views on it were criticised by people who are concerned about the high infection rates and the number of people dying from HIV?Aids related illness in South Africa.
For the good work he did, I still think Mr Mbeki messed-up on the Zimbabwean issue. As the leader of the most powerful country in the Southern Africa region, he should have done more than his policy of quite diplomacy. Probably Zimbabwe could have been a different country than it is today. Maybe he could have saved the lives of all those innocent Zimbabweans who were killed in political violence.
Now that Mr Mbeki is gone, is Mr Zuma the best man to lead South Africa? The people of South
Africa probably know better. Feel free to share your views by posting your comments.
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