The following from an editorial in the Sunday Times:-
"The situation in each country will have to get worse before the outlook improves for Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The political chaos we have seen in Zimbabwe since President Robert Mugabe's wife went into politics tells us that the country is entering a new phase.
Grace Mugabe's entry into the political fray has taken the debate away from what Zimbabwe needs in this time of economic hardship and diverted it onto non-issues such as dress codes and miniskirts.
Robert Mugabe's deputy, Joice Mujuru, was barred from contesting a seat in Zanu-PF's highest decision-making organ. This is all being done to short-circuit Zimbabwe's future.
The troubles in that country will get worse. In the current political situation the president has been turned into a ringmaster.
Across the border in South Africa we are facing our own demons. It will get worse here, too, before we see some signs of sanity in the government and the imploding ANC.
We have a president who is using every trick in the book to evade appearing before parliament to answer MPs' questions.
President Jacob Zuma wants to tell this nation that, as head of state, he should not be asked difficult questions.
We need to put South Africa first, above factional politics.
Those who now complain that the ANC and the opposition are dragging South Africa down should remember what happenedin the heyday of the National Party. It, too, had to sink into a dark hole before the rainbow nation emerged.
Those who are now in power forget thatold age and death cannot be cheated or manipulated.
The 91-year-old Mugabe and our "powerful" politicians think that time stands still and they will be in office forever.
They need to be told that their glory days are coming to an end and that their time at the feeding trough is almost over.mproves for ."
One onlyhave to ebr i mind that Zimabawe is a crude dictaorship - where everything is possible. It remind me of the Chinese Red Guards - who went on the rampage shortly before the death of Mao Zedug. Lie the case is in Zimbabwe with Grace Mugabe - Zedung's wife - a prossie and his Ministerof Defence was using the Red Guards to purge their potential opponents in th race to succeed Zedung.Now suddenly more than a hundred ZANU-PF MP's and 10 Ministers are in a plot to kill the ruthless olf so-and-so. This may sound crazy - but it is true in the country where the economy is virtually in a state of free-fall.
In SA Zuma must have realized that he has been the one person that is orchestrating the downfall of the ANC. He poublicly admits the ANC is in a crisis situation when addressing the ANCYL in Soweto.
There were 31 by-elections held municipal wards in SA yesterday. In those elections the number of voters in ANC wards who voted fell by an average of 20%. and in some wards as few as 29% of the voters bothered to turn up. Although the ANC lost only one ward in Sterkstroom-Molteno (Eatern-Cape) to the DA - they clearly lost massive support amongst the voters - so Zuma is right - the ANC is in a crisis.
