I'm heading back to the U.S. after ten days in South Africa, where I launched the biography of Rhoda Kadalie. Everything went well and I had a great time. I also learned a lot about the current political debates there -- including the odd attempt to rewrite history, casting Thabo Mbeki's presidency as a Golden Age.
You can understand why that story might be persuasive to South Africans. In the Mbeki era, the economy was growing; construction was booming; there was only a little bit of "load shedding." The Zuma era, with its wholesale looting and "state capture," seems so much worse; there is almost a kind of Mbeki nostalgia.
The truth is that the seeds of South Africa's present crisis were planted in the Mbeki era. What Rhoda, Tony Leon, Helen Zille, and a few others understood was Mbeki's intolerance to opposition and his racial thinking -- both of which were demonstrated in the HIV/Aids and Zimbabwe crises -- were destructive.
Mbeki also presided over the era of BEE, when South Africa diverted scarce capital away from productive investment and toward racial redistribution to members of the ruling party. The model for corruption was set: when Zuma led a group of disgruntled outsiders to power, they simply exploited the pattern.
I think the revisionism is partly being engineered by Mbeki and his loyalists, but is also embraced by those who are desperate to see a way out of the country's present troubles. The opposition does not look likely to take over in 2024, even though the ruling party's fortunes are falling. Hence the wishful thinking.
But Mbeki's presidency remains the moment when the rot set in. Rhoda knew that, and wrote about it. She was often a lone voice of opposition, but she was right. That's another reason the book is relevant, and timely: South Africans need to have an honest conversation about how they got to where they are.
Today's episode is devoted to the second anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks. It was produced before the announcement of a ceasefire deal, yet remains current & relevant.
Please listen, and #bringthemhome.
SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET (4-7 PT)
This week's portion is a beautiful poem, containing the Covenant between God and the people of Israel. But given the breaking news that Hamas may actually have agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages, I will devote my remarks to that.
One hopes it is true; if so, it makes this week's additional reading, from II Samuel 22, even more relevant: David's song of praise to the Lord for delivering him from the hand of his enemies.
"18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support."
So much to focus on this week -- and much breaking news. A peace deal in the Middle East, perhaps? Eric Adams dropping out of the mayor's race? And a looming shutdown as Democrats push their demands beyond absurdity.
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