I am greatly concerned about the behavior of South Africa on the international stage on behalf of Africa.
South Africa is regarded as the influential Big Brother on the continent yet some of its decisions and priorities have been embarrassing, to say the least.
The past immediate South African president and the current one are mediocre politicians who did not get to the presidency because of their brains but were beneficiaries of a skewed system within the ruling African National Congress.
Who really in their right minds would vote for Thabo Mbeki or Jacob Zuma to be president of anything if brains are the yardstick?
The African National Congress itself is a pale shadow of the organisation that once stood for democracy. Now it is a vehicle being used by some people to amass wealth; democracy be damned!
By dint of its economic prowess, South Africa is viewed as Africa’s leader and the outside world considers South Africa to be the power broker in Africa.
Feel sorry for us.
We have people like Jacob Zuma as president, a product of the chaotic ANC, an old party that fails to apply discipline within itself.
I feel embarrassed to be represented by South Africa.
Whatever Mbeki was trying to do in Zimbabwe turned into a selfish disaster that now benefits South Africa at the expense of the long suffering Zimbabweans who continue to suffer under a not-so-hidden hand of South Africa.
Mbeki was heartless enough to watch the misery and the deaths of innocent people in Zimbabwe and did absolutely nothing to stem the tide he had overseen.
And Mbeki was an ANC president.
Jacob Zuma was impatient enough and kicked Mbeki out of office before his term was over.
Zuma made the right noises and gave the impression that maybe now South Africa was going to prove its undeserved Big Brother status and assist Zimbabwe to get back on track.
Alas, no such luck!
All we see is Zuma giving endless statements between unnecessary flights in and out of Zimbabwe.
I still maintain that if South Africa wanted, it could have ended the suffering of innocent people in Zimbabwe as far back as ten years ago.
South Africa blundered on Zimbabwe and shamelessly continues with that blunder as if it is not urgent to address the Zimbabwean issue.
South Africa went on to embarrass us in C├┤te d’Ivoire where Mbeki, by some unexplained stupidity on the part of the non-performing African Union, was again appointed mediator.
I still have to find anyone who could explain to me how the AU asked Mbeki to mediate in an electoral dispute where an incumbent president had lost an election but refused to cede power.
You cannot honestly tell me that the AU was not aware of what Mbeki had done in Zimbabwe and his dismal failure to mediate after taking sides with the losing incumbent.
Zimbabwe is still paying for what Mbeki did and didn’t do in Zimbabwe.
Predictably, Mbeki took his smoking pipes to C├┤te d’Ivoire where he shamelessly repeated the same thing of taking sides during mediation.
Mbeki again took sides and tacitly supported the losing incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
He was fired for ineptitude.
The result, as in Zimbabwe, was a long drawn conflict that reignited a civil war that had almost been extinguished.
It took the intervention of the United Nations and an armed resistance by the winner, Alassane Ouattara, to drive Gbagbo out, capture him and have the winner sworn in.
South Africa should have been ashamed for taking paths that are anti people; South Africa should have learned from Zimbabwe and C├┤te d’Ivoire.
Zuma surprisingly did the very same things that Mbeki did in both Zimbabwe and C├┤te d’Ivoire, tacitly supporting the losing incumbents in both countries.
But he was not satisfied so he went looking for another embarrassment and he found it in Libya where the people there had had enough of their leader and rose up in arms trying to regain their political imperatives.
Predictably, Muammur Gaddafi responded like any heartless dictator would, he bombed the people and ignited a chain of events that has resulted in him going underground.
The rebels started advancing, taking city after city with the unfortunate assistance of NATO, and Africa’s “leader”, South Africa, was quiet for a long time because Gaddafi was still able to inflict damage here and there.
As it became clearer that Gaddafi was actually being driven out of power, the demons of South Africa got up and flew Zuma to several countries, drumming up support for Gaddafi.
Zuma was so behind reality that he called for negotiations when the rebels had clearly taken almost all of the country.
Country after country recognized the Libyan rebels under the leadership of their National Transitional Council but not South Africa because South Africa was leading the resistance against the NTC.
South Africa somehow managed to influence the African Union into not recognizing the NTC, making me wonder who really is the African Union when half of the organisation says ‘yes’ while the other half keeps quiet, not appearing to take sides.
With no choice left, the African Union indicated it would be working with the NTC. South Africa embarrassed not only its own citizens but Africa when, also with no choice left, it grudgingly announced it would work with the NTC hours after the AU had jumped ship.
South Africa cannot be Africa’s leader because ANC values are not those that are shared by other African people.
Can anyone tell me what the Zuma government thinks it is doing when it denies the Dalai Lama a visa to enter South Africa and help celebrate a birthday for one of its most illustrious sons?
The ANC government denied this religious leader a visa because the Chinese had instructed Zuma to do so and Zuma was only too glad to oblige.
The ANC government cannot uphold its own legendary Freedom Charter!
A few months ago, one Professor Jonathan Moyo of Zimbabwe was called upon to apologise after saying that South Africa was working for imperialist powers.
If China can make Zuma jump, think of how much higher the westerners would make him jump?
Of course, I would prefer South Africa not to play big Brother in any country because it is totally misguided and wishes to drive Africa in the wrong direction. Africa needs democracy not the chicanery and political thievery being espoused by the African National Congress through inept leaders it keeps putting forward as presidents.
If South Africa does not wish to stand on the side of the oppressed or disadvantaged, all it has to do is stay completely away, not to help oppressors.
Africa must never allow South Africa to represent it in any fora.
South Africa does not know where it’s headed and must not be allowed to take Africa backwards.
If, for example, South Africa leaves us alone and not interfere on Robert Mugabe’s side, Zimbabweans could have liberated themselves a long time ago, with or without the Movement for Democratic Change.
Africa must beware of South Africa. It is a country without leadership and whose own ruling party is not coherent enough to lead. There is no leadership in South Africa that is worthy of Africa.
With the likes of Mbeki, Zuma, Malema and the ANC calling the shots in South Africa, South Africans are better advised to take that so-called Freedom Charter to use in the generously abundant pit latrines and start afresh…cleaner.
