Motlanthe must be Mugabe's bad cop

While former president Thabo Mbeki has always made allowances for Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, things may well take a dramatic turn for the worse for the old man when the South African delegation arrives in Swaziland on Monday. President Kgalema Motlanthe leads a local delegation and will be joined by two other members of the SADC — to be briefed by Mbeki — on the deadlock in the power-sharing negotiations.

The meeting and indeed the current impasse is, as I said yesterday, coming at a very dangerous time for Zanu-PF.

South Africans are angry at the cost of the Zanu-PF to South Africa in terms of playing babysitter to millions of exiles, running into tens of billions of rands, in order for them to continue ignoring the results of the election and making ridiculous unilateral decisions.

The power-sharing deal negotiated by Mbeki was a heaven-sent opportunity for Zanu-PF to regroup in a friendly environment. Their refusal to cede ground in order to improve their position will occasion their total demise.

Motlanthe and ANC president Jacob Zuma are staring down the barrel of wholesale defections from the party prior to the next elections. Alongside Aids, the question of Zimbabwe ranks, in every sense of the word, as the biggest failing of the party.

While the battle for the centre ground begins the ANC would achieve enormous credit by sending Mugabe and the Zanu-PF into oblivion. Indeed, they might even point out that the breakaway faction is the one that had the pro-Mugabe stance while the SACP, Cosatu, ANCYL and other ANC members were hostile.

In light thereof I note with interest Mugabe’s spokesperson advising delegates to Swaziland that SADC can’t tell him what to do.

I’m afraid his timing could not be worse and if we are to avoid landing up with another one-party state in Zimbabwe I suggest that the Zanu-PF leaders, if only in the interests of self preservation, move very quickly to appoint the Cabinet expected by the African and international communities.

Your time is up.