Zuma’s credibility in jeopardy over Zim crisis

By Alex Bell
07 April 2010

South African President Jacob Zuma’s credibility is said to be taking a serious blow over his handling of Zimbabwe’s political crisis, as critics warn that the future of South Africa is also at stake.

S'Thembiso Msomi, Political Editor for South Africa’s The Times newspaper, wrote in an editorial this week that Zuma’s credibility is being ‘eroded’, warning that he is on the same path as his predecessor Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki’s policy of quiet diplomacy and his ‘softly-softly’ handling of Robert Mugabe saw him lose all credibility as an effective mediator in Zimbabwe’s crisis. It was hoped that Zuma, who at the time that Mbeki was being pushed out of office was highly critical of Mugabe, would take a strong stance as the new mediator. But he has instead followed a path of appeasement, putting more energy into lobbying for the targeted sanctions against ZANU PF to be lifted, than forcing the party to share power with the MDC.

Msomi wrote that Zuma and the ANC have a worrying ‘schizophrenic’ approach to his Zimbabwean counterpart, a ‘disorder’ demonstrated by the recent ANC Youth League visit to Zimbabwe. Youth League leader Julius Malema was quoted as saying about five months ago that Mugabe ‘must step down’ because “we need a new president in Zim.” But during his visit this weekend Malema changed his tune: “We salute President Mugabe for standing firm against imperialists. The reason why they want him to go is because he has started attending to the real issues.”

Wearing a Mugabe t-shirt, Malema then went on to denounce Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC as allies of the ‘imperialists’. Malema had previously said he refused to meet with the MDC because they “were not involved in the struggle,” despite 28 year old Malema himself not being involved in his own country’s political struggle.

“Such statements, coming from the leader of the ANC’s youth wing, can hardly enhance Zuma’s image as an honest broker in the conflict between Mugabe and Tsvangirai,” Msomi wrote.

At the same time, South Africa’s main opposition has this week lashed out at Zuma for placing “both his country’s national interest and South African interests abroad in jeopardy.” The Democratic Alliance (DA), which has been critical of Zuma’s handling of the Zimbabwe crisis, said Zuma is making no progress as the regional mediator in the political crisis in Zimbabwe. The DA’s parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, said that by refusing to take a tough stance with Mugabe on policies like land reform and indigensation, Zuma has “opened the door for such dangerous discussions to be initiated in South Africa - with potentially devastating long term economic repercussions.”

The DA official added that Zuma must not allow Mugabe to participate in future elections, which are being heralded as the only way forward for the country’s crumbling unity government. Trollip compared Mugabe’s continued grip on power to a ‘cancerous tumour’ that needs to be ‘expunged’ from the Zimbabwean body politic.

“The only solution is to cut him out, thereby removing the influence of the tyrannical regime he represents, and creating the opportunity for change to flood the country he has controlled for three decades,” Trollip said.