Mbeki and Bush’s Legacies
Towards the end of their terms presidents normally start thinking of their legacies.
George W Bush will doubtlessly be remembered for his way with words and a needless war in Iraq.
Thabo Mbeki compared to Bush is a smart, logical, analytical person, but yet he will go down in history the same as George W Bush, as someone who’s stubborness caused the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people. According to a Harvard study, over 365 000 people died in South Africa because of Mbeki’s stance that HIV is not the only cause of AIDS.
Back in 1999 Thabo Mbeki seemed like a logical choice as president of South Africa…after he accused them of launching a conspiracy to assassinate him, he maneuvered his rivals Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale out of politics and into the vast riches of the business world.
Nelson Mandela was a hard act to follow, so the world perhaps did not expect Mbeki to have the same charisma and presence as the ex-president. We thought his intelligence and economic policies would be strong enough to overcome the fact that he was not Mandela.
Mbeki has a lot to answer for during his 2 terms as president, like trying to cover for Jackie Selebi and running for a 3rd term as ANC president, but the biggest mistake he ever made was not erring on the side of caution and doing everything possible to ensure that HIV sufferers received the necessary treatment.
According to the article in the New York Times:
Mr. Mbeki has maintained a silence on his AIDS legacy since his forced resignation. His spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said Mr. Mbeki would not discuss his thinking on H.I.V. and AIDS, explaining that policy decisions were made collectively by the cabinet and so questions should be addressed to the government.
To make matters worse, the article continues with:
“Who would have thought Jacob Zuma would be better than Mbeki, but he is,” said Richard C. Holbrooke, the former ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration who heads a coalition of businesses fighting AIDS.
and…
“The tragedy of Thabo Mbeki is that he’s a smart man who could have been an international statesman on this issue. To this day, you wonder what got into him.”
