In an interview published recently in the Mail & Guardian Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai suggested the South African government was dictatorial and would soon play the race card to cover its policy failures. African National Congress spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama replies.
Are Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo and President Thabo Mbeki trying to legitimise President Robert Mugabe?
Tsvangirai’s comments are those of a desperate person out to prove a point to his masters. He makes a big mistake by breaking bridges with parties he should be working with if he is genuine about finding solutions in Zimbabwe. It is not up to President Mbeki or Obasanjo to legitimise Mugabe. It is the people of Zimbabwe who legitimise Mugabe through the ballot box.
Tsvangirai suggests the world is doing nothing about Zimbabwe because “one more dictatorship in Africa will not make a difference … “
Morgan likes labelling African leaders dictators without expanding on his understanding of a dictator. It seems a dictator is a person he disagrees with. He would label anybody who agrees with him a democrat — even a former oppressor. Tsvangirai always projects himself as some kind of a super-democrat.
Is the ANC is divided over Zimbabwe and does Mbeki view Mugabe as a stabilising force?
There are no divisions in the ANC. Our position is the same on Zimbabwe as any conflict in the world. Solutions cannot be imported or exported — they have to evolve from within the country. Whether Mugabe should go or remain is not for the ANC or South Africa to decide.
Tsvangirai predicts that in five years South Africa’s racial divide will be made a scapegoat for Mbeki’s failures, which are bound to happen because privatisation will fail …
Good luck to Tsvangirai in his new role as a prophet of doom. The ANC policy will restructure state assets where necessary and retain [state] ownership where feasible. We have no fixed position. There is no evidence to suggest that down the line we will blame any problems on the racial divide.
Is South Africa making a mistake by saying there is no alternative to privatisation, just as Mugabe blundered by pushing a structural adjustment programme?
There is something lacking in Tsvangirai’s understanding of South Africa. We decided to deal with foreign debt as quickly as possible to avoid the route that would take us to the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. Their help would have come with structural adjustments.
What about Tsvangirai’s complaint that in Africa there is solidarity among leaders, rather than between leaders and the people?
Again he seems to be projecting a fear of democracy among African leaders. We have seen the democratisation of the continent — his own country has gone through it. The questions about the result or quality of elections in Zimbabwe are the same that the United States has about its own.
He says Zimbabweans do not want the unity government Mbeki and Obasanjo are pushing …
Zimbabweans must decide whether they want a government of national unity. He cannot speak for the people without consulting them. The only reason we pulled out of negotiations with the Movement for Democratic Change and Zanu-PF on a unity government was because of the court case against Morgan — not because the people were against the idea.
Tsvangirai hints that Mbeki’s Aids stance comes from the tendency of dictatorial governments to prescribe to their people.
It is an unfortunate statement. The ANC has a clear campaign on spreading awareness on Aids. We won a court case allowing parallel importation of cheaper anti-retrovirals. We are spending enormous resources on a vaccine that will deal with Aids permanently. It would be foolhardy for any leader to lead without open eyes and to allow himself to be led by pharmaceutical companies. At the end of the day the government has the mandate of the people. Otherwise, why not let the economy be run by economists?
Are you concerned about the situation in Zimbabwe?
We are — we cannot gloat when there is general instability there. A stable Zimbabwe would be in South Africa’s interests.