Should Mbeki retire?

[BobbyMac]

The Thabo Mbeki Presidency has a woeful track record. Under him, HIV/AIDS flourished into an epidemic; crime was left unacceptably high; millions of rands was spent on his personal security (including a multi million rand wall); poverty remains one of the biggest and most crucial challenges; and infrastructure goes unmaintained and is busy falling apart (Telecoms and Electricity are two perfect examples).

One senses that Mbeki has very little interest in being a president now anyway, as his time is very much over since Jacob Zuma took over control of the ruling party late last year. While Thabo Mbeki was no doubt one of the worst leaders in the world inside the last decade, his withdrawn state these last 18 or so months before the dawn of a new presidency may very well result in dire consequences for South Africa's now wounded economy.

Is it time for him to bow out? One feels any more days with him at the helm may very much be days causing irreparable harm.

While many people continually point fingers at Eskom as the reason behind the rolling blackouts ripping through the country, the bottom line is the Thabo Mbeki administration saw fit to ignore early Eskom warnings that power shortages will be the order of the day. Thabo Mbeki admitted this in public. Surely he should be fired for this simply dismal incompetent decision?

 

[Ricard]

You forgot the plus side of his leadership...

* Shares in Johnny Walker doubled.

err.... thats it

 

[dlk001]

Thabo Mbeki admitted this in public. Surely he should be fired for this simply dismal incompetent decision?

I would hope all leaders could be fired for "incompetent" decisions especially when such decisions have huge impacts.

 

[BobbyMac]

I would hope all leaders could be fired for "incompetent" decisions especially when such decisions have huge impacts.

Sadly I don't think the SA president can be fired "easily". I believe there is a hell of a tough process behind this. Either way, he should step down. Clearly the rolling blackouts should be seen as the last straw.

 

[semiautomatix]

Let him finish his term, he was elected afterall. It will be a bad precident (president ) to set for future leaders. If you're elected the new party president call for elections? This will shorten the constitutional term provided for the president in the constitution. In the US you only have a few months before the election once you become party candidate. And then for the two months following you must wait to take up office. Effective and prevents a fascist-like takeover of the government.

 

[BobbyMac]

Let him finish his term, he was elected afterall. It will be a bad precident (president ) to set for future leaders.

what precedent will this be? That a president can too be fired if he doesn't do his job? It's exactly that level of accountability that's sorely lacking here.

 

[Alan]

Should be thrown in jail for criminal negligence at the very least

 

[semiautomatix]

what precedent will this be? That a president can too be fired if he doesn't do his job? It's exactly that level of accountability that's sorely lacking here.

He has not been incompetent enough to justify an impeachment. Or are presidents about to become like sport coaches in this country?

You're pretty much telling these future presidents to hold on for all they're worth because you'll be booted the moment a new party leader is elected. In fact, you're inviting Zim 2.0 into your house

 

[Fuma]

He's power-obsessed. Can't let go. He intelligently got rid of anyone capable/competent to succeed him, now we have no choice but to wait and see. JZ is obviously not the most suitable, but he's going to be the president if he doesn't get charged for all those allegations.

 

[Ozymandias]

I think the turning point for me came when Mbeki fired Madlala-Routledge and then suspended Pikoli. Up to that point I had largely ignored politics and was quite happily getting on with my life. However, the past six months has woken me up to the reality that South Africa is going down the tubes at breakneck speed and I'm seriously worried about our prospects. Mbeki started to show his true colours as a paranoid megalomaniac and did himself no favours by putting himself in contention for a third term. If he had groomed a viable successor to stand for the ANC presidency, I'm not so sure that Zuma would have garnered the same support that he did at Polokwane. It seemed to be more of a protest vote against Mbeki's ambitions rather than absolute support for Zuma. Anyway, Mbeki and his clique have been neutralised and now we have to face the prospect of our country being led by an equally unsavoury bunch under Zuma's leadership.

Mbeki has shown himself to be totally unfit for office but should he go now when the alternative is just as frightening? My feeling is that he should see out his term. It doesn't look like Selebi can enjoy his protection anymore and Zuma needs the next eighteen months to prepare himself for government. All Mbeki's chickens have come home to roost at once and he will only be remembered for how he managed to tarnish our country's name and his own in such a short time. I've never believed what I've read about him being such a brilliant intellectual. He has surrounded himself with a bunch of sycophantic cronies who reinforce this notion but I think that many saw through this self-constructed veneer. Only a politician as narcissistic as Mbeki would believe in his own infallibility and repeatedly open himself to the ridicule that he so justly deserves. His handling of his own demise speaks for itself.

The ANC's desire to disband the Scorpions and restructure the NPA is a harbinger of life under Zuma's leadership. Mbeki undermined the independency of the NPA and now political manipulation of state institutions, is set to continue. The last thing the ANC wants to submit itself to, is the rule of law or have any interference with its obscene money grab. Press freedom will be next on the agenda. I can't see any light at the end of this dark tunnel - Eskom has extinguished that. The consequences of South Africa's electricity crisis are just too staggering to contemplate. Our thriving economy now faces a decade of negative growth. The nation is still trying to get it's head around the mind boggling inept handling of such a vital resource. Lack of public accountability will be the ultimate reason for the unravelling of years of our hard-won progress and maybe even the fabric of our democracy itself.

 

[Moederloos]

He should be jailed for crimes against the country.