Mbeki deserves no tears

For those who have read my blog www.dwanyama.blogspot.com will find this piece in tandem with one I posted there, saying Mbeki’s ouster is a good thing for Africa, considering the democratic foundation it sets.
But today, I wish to take on the man himself and prompted by the ode Khadija has sung to him in a previous post.
First, let us take on this Zimbabwe farce. I can see Khadija and choir think Mbeki did a good job getting the two, actually three sides to share the spoils. I don’t want to get into the intricacies here but surely and election must have a loser and winner. You can not receive praise for helping a loser retain grip on power even after clearly the people have rejected that leader. That is what Mbeki precisely did; help a thieving Mugabe retain power.
And we all know this trend is going to be adopted by other megalomaniacs. So, what praise does Mbeki need for instituting broad daylight theft in Africa?
Ok, here I am going to tread carefully. I don’t live in South Africa. Have never been there to be exact, but that does not mean I don’t have a rough picture of what that places looks like. If I am not wrong, Mbeki’s major undoing was the economic line he took. Carrying out fiscal policies that created a steady economic growth in the country; but like pure capitalist states—the wealth only trickled to a few. That is where sweet Khadija comes in---I hate to say this—but she may be on the other divide. She may be guarded from the South Africa where people still live in shanties, eat a single meal a day and have no jobs.
And I can’t blame Kay and those who think like her. They are in a different world.
The very reason we saw xenophobic attacks in SA earlier this year was because of this very factor. Unfortunately for those who were rioting they didn’t know where to direct their anger—it should not have been the foreigners—it should have been Mbeki and his government. He was the reason they lack jobs, go hungry and sleep in the open. But may be with the tight security around Mbeki and his cohorts, the easiest target was the defenceless foreigners.
So, my best friend Khadija thinks it is very touching for State House staff to take a full-page advert in a newspaper to celebrate their President’s birthday. First, that is a waste of tax-payers money. I don’t think Mbeki’s office had this vote. Secondly, there is something called sycophancy. In the world of politics, this is deep-rooted. Someone might have wanted to catch the President’s eye and maybe get a promotion or secure a job. What do you do? Blow away tax-payers money lauding your leader in a newspaper.
Bottom line colleagues---Mbeki deserves no tears.