Downward spiral

The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, has exhibited a certain style of leadership. The features coming to mind when I think of him as President, are his seemingly clever use of vocabulary and manner of speech that can create the impression of extreme knowledgeableness, his abnormally high absence from South Africa and then, perhaps above all, his inability to stay in touch with his electorate.

I think it was especially the last feature that acted as the iceberg that sunk the Titanic, as it were. The people rejected him and for the period from now until next year when a new President will by elected, he reminds me of a elephant bull in the wild which has been pushed out of the group. Politics is not for the faint-hearted and Mbeki will have realized this long ago. As one of the top men in the so-called freedom struggle by the ANC years ago, he probably experienced then already a lot of back-biting and jostling for position. I am sure that helped in preparing him for his present role as President as well as the disappointment of being pushed aside now.

However, it seems that when Mbeki was "promoted" to presidency of the country he underwent what is commonly known as the Peter Principle: He was perhaps good at the level of operation he occupied before 1994 but he was not the ideal candidate for the higher position. His own people rejected him, Zimbabweans are disillusioned , other SADC members are disgruntled and many poor people in this country have not benefited at all by the beautiful promises made by the ANC, including the iconic Mandela. All they hear are more promises and plans.

Even leading intellectual Moeletsi Mbeki, the President's brother, outspoken as he might be form time to time, agrees that South Africa is in a downward spiral and the ANC is the main destabilising factor.

(Photo Thabo Mbeki congratulating Jacob Zuma on becoming president of the ANC)

Now the newly elected president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma who may possibly be the next President of the country, is in my opinion already showing weaknesses that make me believe that Moeletsi Mbeki, like so many thousands of other really knowledgeable people, is correct that there is really very little to get excited about when one looks at what the future may hold for this country.

No wonder most of the highly skilled South Africans are leaving South Africa to secure for themselves and their children a better future in other countries.