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President Mbeki has rejected the idea that markets on their own can solve all of Africa's problems. At the opening plenary session of the African Economic Summit in Maputo this week, Mbeki said that even the cash-flush European Union pours enormous sums of public money into developing deprived areas - it does not wait for market mechanisms to run their course. "They realised that parts of their member states were so underdeveloped that you can't leave them up to the market," he said. "It's untrue that such regions just need to make themselves pretty to attract investment. It doesn't work....

Mugabe cheered at inauguration Posted Tue, 27 Apr 2004 Dignitaries and general members of the public ululated and cheered as the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, arrived at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday. Mugabe, arriving in an old model Mercedes Benz with a Zimbabwean registration number, received the most cheers and a standing ovation when he arrived at the venue to attend the inauguration of South African president Thabo Mbeki. Mugabe stood hand in hand with his wife, Grace, who was dressed in lime with matching headgear. The Mugabes waved at the cameras before they were led to sit...

Human rights are not fundamental for President Thabo Mbeki, but flexible depending on the political interests and allegiances of the ANC, says Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon. In a Human Rights Day speech prepared for delivery in Bushbuckridge, Limpopo, the DA leader launched a sustained attack on Mbeki, saying "again and again" Mbeki "sides with oppressors like Saddam Hussein and Mugabe against their people". Last month, according to Leon, Parade magazine in the United States published a list of "The World's Ten Worst Dictators". Two of these were Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (number four on the list), and King...

Mbeki says ANC will not rewrite Constitution S'THEMBISO MSOMI THE ANC has no intention of changing the Constitution after the elections, says President Thabo Mbeki, who also accused one of the opposition parties of trying to reintroduce religious bigotry in the country. Recently the official opposition, the DA, suggested that Mbeki would amend the Constitution to seek a third term as president. DA leader Tony Leon said: "There is talk about the president trying to serve three terms. Former President [Nelson] Mandela has already seen fit to declare publicly he is sure President Mbeki would never do such a thing."...

<p>Zimbabwe's recent attack on press freedoms and ongoing sham trial of an opposition leader are not only a reaffirmation of the government's bare-knuckled tendencies, but also a reflection of South Africa's leadership shortcomings.</p> <p>South African President Thabo Mbeki, the undisputed power broker of southern Africa, said Sunday that the government of Zimbabwe and its opposition have agreed on an agenda for negotiations geared toward holding parliamentary elections. But Zimbabwe's justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said Monday that he didn't know of any developments regarding talks with the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).</p>

Mbeki hails decade of progress Mbeki was upbeat but short on specifics President Thabo Mbeki has hailed great advances made in South Africa since the end of apartheid 10 years ago. In his annual state of the nation address he said the government had delivered on basic needs like housing, electricity and water. However, he admitted there remained challenges to overcome. The issues of Aids and Zimbabwe were almost completely absent from his speech. The country is gearing up for the third fully democratic general elections. Drive In his address to MPs, President Mbeki quoted a line from former President...

Mbeki's Haiti visit backfires January 03 2004 at 10:11AM By Peter Fabricius Bullets fired at a South African police helicopter and into a sports stadium in Haiti forced President Thabo Mbeki to call off his controversial participation in the key ceremony marking Haiti's independence celebrations. South African police said on Friday that the South African helicopter was fired at on Thursday while it was carrying South African security officials scouting the port city of Gonaives to ensure that it was safe before Mbeki visited it hours later. Mbeki was supposed to join Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in a re-enactment ceremony...

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - In his three-year effort to reengineer the racial and economic landscape of Zimbabwe by forcibly taking farms away from whites and giving them to blacks, President Robert Mugabe has long counted on - and gotten - support from almost all of Africa's leaders. Until now. With half of Zimbabwe's 12 million people facing hunger, inflation over 600 percent, and state-sponsored torture a common tool, hints of criticism by regional leaders that began showing up last month have now started to expand. Everyone from Nigeria's President Olesegun Obasanjo to Archbishop Desmond Tutu has distanced themselves from Mugabe....

Outrage as Mbeki hints at S African land grab By Tim Butcher in Johannesburg (Filed: 19/12/2003) President Thabo Mbeki sent shockwaves through South Africa yesterday when he hinted that it might adopt the brutal land-grab policies of President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe. Thabo Mbeki South African opposition politicians were incensed by Mr Mbeki's comments at the start of a one-day visit to Harare, where he underlined his status as chief apologist for the Mugabe regime. While other world leaders, including some in Africa, have distanced themselves from the brutal Mugabe dictatorship, Mr Mbeki said he could learn from Mr...

ANC divide feared: Similar policy would have perpetuated apartheid Tim Butcher The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, December 16, 2003 JOHANNESBURG - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the moral leader of the fight against apartheid, yesterday turned on the African leaders who still support President Robert Mugabe's tyrannical regime in Zimbabwe. Although he did not cite Thabo Mbeki by name, it was clear the South African President was the subject of Archbishop Tutu's stinging criticism. The prelate hit out at those who have called for Zimbabwe to be readmitted to the Commonwealth in the face of Mr. Mugabe's continuing human rights violations and abuse...

Call for 'dishonest' Mbeki to apologise for Aids gaffe Five million South Africans have HIV - and one of his staff died from Aids - but the President denies knowing any victims of the disease. Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria reports on the leader's latest controversy Sunday September 28, 2003 The Observer Shock and outrage erupted across South Africa yesterday in response to President Thabo Mbeki's denial that he knew anyone with Aids. 'Personally, I don't know anybody who has died of Aids,' Mbeki told the New York Times while at the United Nations General Assembly last week. Asked if he...

The Associated Press JOHANNESBURG, South Africa Sept. 27 — With tens of thousands of South Africans dying from the ravages of AIDS, Denis Matwa saw a rare glimmer of hope when his government abandoned its insistence that AIDS medicines are poison and declared them effective in treating the disease. For 31-year-old Matwa and millions of other South Africans infected with HIV, it was a sign the government would provide the powerful medicines that changed AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic disease in wealthier countries. But 17 months and an estimated 300,000 AIDS deaths later, the drugs still aren't...

SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki this week came in for flak as a dishonest broker, with political commentators accusing him of having a guarded motive in his handling of the country?s worsening economic and political crisis. They decried the fact that American President George W Bush whose high profile visit to Africa last week "signified nothing" had been swayed by Mbeki's arguments and subsequently bought into the South African leader?s scheme. Eliphas Mukonowe-shuro, a political analyst and adviser to opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan Tsvangirai, said Mbeki was very much aware of the gravity of Zimbabwe's problems....

Robert Mugabe will relinquish his leadership of Zimbabwe's ruling party by December, paving the way for his exit as President and new elections by June 2004, the South African President Thabo Mbeki has told George Bush. The Independent has established that Mr Bush has pledged a reconstruction package for Zimbabwe worth up to $10bn (£6.2bn) over an unspecified timeframe, if a new leader takes over.The deal was discussed by the two leaders during a private meeting in Pretoria last week.Important differences remain: Washington is anxious to make the money conditional on the emergence of a new leader chosen by the...

George Bush has urged South Africa's Thabo Mbeki to step up pressure on Zimbabwe, saying it was time for a "return to democracy" in the crisis-hit country. Mr Bush said he discussed the "very sad situation" in Zimbabwe with the South African president, during more than an hour of talks also touching on trade, HIV/AIDS, and Liberia's crisis. "In Zimbabwe I've encouraged President Mbeki and his government to continue to work for the return of democracy in the country," Mr Bush said. But Mr Bush denied there was tension between him and Mr Mbeki over South Africa's northern neighbour and...

Zimbabwe row mars Bush's tour Bush and Mbeki emphasised their points of agreement Zimbabwe's opposition leader has accused South African President Thabo Mbeki of making mischievous statements to George Bush about the crisis in his country. Speaking at a news conference with the US president, Mr Mbeki said talks between President Robert Mugabe's Government and the opposition were progressing. But Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said: "Such statements are manifestly partisan, designed to buy time for the beleaguered illegitimate Mugabe regime." George Bush is on a five-day tour of Africa and has pledged to work...

President Mbeki had a crack at United States Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday night over his criticism of South Africa's posture on the crisis in Zimbabwe, but said he had high expectations that the meeting with US President George Bush in Pretoria on Wednesday would benefit Africa's development. Mbeki, in an interview with CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault, expressed surprise at the recent statement by Powell on Zimbabwe which criticised South Africa for not doing enough to end the political and economic crisis in that country. "It came as a bit of surprise," said Mbeki, adding that South Africa had...

Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad has said there was no shortage of issues for South Africans to discuss with the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. Foreign Affairs acting director-general Abdul Minty said President Thabo Mbeki and US President George W Bush would determine their own agenda. Based on various briefings and statements, these are the issues the two leaders are likely to have on their agenda:- 1. HIV/Aids What SA wants: US to give South Africa, SADC and African countries access to $15-billion over five years - announced by Bush to fight HIV/Aids pandemic in broader...

United States President George W Bush is set to clash with his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki over Washington's insistence that South Africa plays a leading role in ensuring the formation of a transitional government in Zimbabwe ahead of fresh elections, a move Mbeki says he is not willing to pursue. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner have called for President Robert Mugabe's exit from power and the formation of a transitional administration that would organise a fresh presidential election following Mugabe's disputed re-election last year. Bush, who embarks on...

<p>JOHANNESBURG &#8212; Tough talk from Washington ahead of a visit to Africa by President Bush next week is creating problems for South African President Thabo Mbeki, whose refusal to speak out on Zimbabwe and other regional crises stands in sharp contrast.</p>