President Thabo Mbeki’s dignified resignation speech has helped calm South Africans in the wake of his departure from office, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Sunday.
”The dignified way in which Thabo Mbeki handled his exit gives us hope that there will be some continuity in government between now and the next election,” she said in a statement.
It was crucial for Mbeki to convey a message that there would be stability in government after his departure.
”We must now look ahead and consider what is in the best interests of our country,” she said.
While Mbeki had made some blunders, it was important not to lose sight of his achievements.
”But, for all his faults, Thabo Mbeki must be praised for his sound stewardship of the economy. Under his watch, South Africa experienced its longest sustained period of economic growth, albeit in a benign international economic climate,” she said.
Zille reiterated her view that the ANC’s decision to remove Mbeki was motivated by the party’s desire to protect its president Jacob Zuma from prosecution.
”The president’s forced resignation is clearly motivated by the ANC’s stated aim to find a ‘political solution’ to Jacob Zuma’s legal problems,” she said.
The incoming president must make a commitment that he or she will not interfere with the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to appeal Judge Chris Nicholson’s judgement.
Mbeki handed his resignation letter to the speaker of Parliament on Sunday and in an unusually humble speech broadcast on the South African Broadcasting Corporation said he had decided to quit out of loyalty to the party that is rejecting him.
”I have been a loyal member of the African National Congress for 52 years. I remain a member of the ANC and therefore respect its decisions. It is for this reason that I’ve taken the decision to resign as president of the republic,” he said.
But Mbeki ”categorically” denied the central accusation against him that was the immediate cause of his forced resignation.
ANC leaders moved against the president after prosecutors said they would appeal against a high court decision that threw out corruption charges against Zuma, and accused Mbeki and his officials of abusing the courts as part of the power struggle over control of the party.
The president said he and his Cabinet had not interfered in decisions as to who to prosecute. ”This applies equally to the painful matter relating to the court proceedings against the president of the ANC, comrade Jacob Zuma,” he said.
The Constitution requires the Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, to take over as acting president, or the Cabinet to appoint one from among themselves as soon as Mbeki resigns. Within 30 days, Parliament then selects an interim president to complete the rest of Mbeki’s term before a general election in about nine months.
The ANC is believed to favour a close Zuma ally for the role, the Speaker of Parliament and party chairperson, Baleka Mbete.
Zuma, who won the leadership election against Mbeki for control of the ANC late last year, is not a member of Parliament and therefore cannot be appointed.
But it is clear that he and his faction will soon be in charge of the government, solidifying a shift in power that began when Mbeki was removed as party leader.
It marks the end of nine years of Mbeki rule that began with the promise of South Africa leading an African renaissance, but ended with the humiliation of a president toppled by his alienation of much of his own party, in part because of policy differences with the left, but also because of his vindictive style of rule.
But many South Africans also see Mbeki’s downfall as principally intended to protect Zuma from prosecution for allegedly accepting bribes related to a multibillion-dollar arms deal.
The outgoing president set out what he sees as his legacy in building the economy, bringing peace to parts of Africa and empowering women.
However, Mbeki acknowledged that despite consistent economic growth, millions of South Africans remain mired in poverty.
Mbeki’s resignation was welcomed by many. Critics of the president’s widely derided policies on HIV/Aids, such as Zackie Achmat, head of the Treatment Action Campaign, say he has abandoned hundreds of thousands of people in need of lifesaving treatment and should be called to account.
”This is long overdue,” said Achmat. ”Personally, I would have liked to see him impeached for causing the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV; for the corruption of the arms deal; for the undermining of every independent state institution.”