[I don’t believe Zuma’s denials. His defence of Mugabe is the same poppycock that Mbeki has been saying for years. I have also seen in the newspapers rumours that big business may abandon S.Africa or may indeed have already begun to abandon SA. The Rand has stabilised since that time so maybe the CIA and MI6 managed to stop the stampede out of S.Africa for now. But keep watching Zuma. He’s not finished. It looks to me as if Mbeki and his CIA buddies are gonna try to smack him again next year – but so far Zuma has been solid and I can’t see how they’ll take him down.

I did speculate about possible assassination as one way out when all other methods fail… would the CIA, Mbeki and their pals actually try to kill Zuma to prevent him becoming President? Maybe. But the CIA doesn’t have a good track record of killing anyone important. I think, officially, it is not allowed by the US Govt. Jan]

Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former deputy president and the man many predict will succeed Thabo Mbeki as president, has dismissed fears that he is a new Robert Mugabe in the making ” a populist who will pander to the mob, push white farmers off the land and introduce hard-line, Left-wing economic policies.

He also defended South Africa’s policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards its northern neighbour. “Other people have adopted the policy of criticising Mugabe from a distance, which only makes him more angry. We are the only ones who have engaged him on the issues,” Mr Zuma said.

He denied that the huge numbers of economic refugees pouring over the border each day were proof of the policy’s failure. “Refugees from Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland pour into South Africa every day. Zimbabwe is not an exception because there are economic problems in these countries.”

Looking relaxed and flashing his trademark smile, Mr Zuma demonstrated the warmth and charm that have helped this unschooled cowherd from a rural backwater in KwaZulu Natal rise to be one of the dominant ” and, some say, sinister ” forces in South African politics. A key figure in the struggle against apartheid, he was imprisoned for 10 years with Nelson Mandela.

Yet his political career has been more controversial. Sacked last year as deputy president over allegations that he accepted bribes from a French arms company, Mr Zuma has refused to lie down and instead mounted a campaign to portray himself as a victim of a conspiracy to prevent his becoming president of the ANC in party elections next year. Whoever wins that contest is almost certain to become president when Mr Mbeki steps down in 2009.

He denied suggestions that the party was split on tribal lines, with his own backers drawn from the Zulu tribe and those of Mr Mbeki from his Xhosa tribe. The passionate support of his followers sprang from a natural sense of justice, not tribal or political rivalry. “What people are protesting about is the apparent victimisation of a comrade ” me ” by the organs of state,” he said.

Even the admission that he had unprotected sex with a 31-year-old HIV positive woman who accused him of rape ” a charge of which he was cleared this year ” has failed to dent his appeal. When the corruption charges were also struck from the roll in September, it appeared Mr Zuma was unstoppable. “I support Mr Zuma because he fought hard for the liberation of our country and he would do more for ordinary people than the current government,” said Bonginkosi Mbhele, 50, as he waited for Mr Zuma’s arrival.

But the business establishment is deeply suspicious of him. Azar Jammine, the head economist of the analysts Econometrix, said he knew of many white business people who said they would pull out of South Africa if Mr Zuma were elected. They fear his economic policy would be dictated by his trade union and Communist Party supporters.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has suggested that Mr Zuma should pull out of the presidential race, citing his sexual irresponsibility and the mob antics of his supporters. Mr Zuma said only: “I respect him and I don’t think I want to politic with him on this.”

As to allegations raised during the trial of his former financial adviser Scahbir Shaik ” jailed this month for fraud and corruption ” that he had been bailed out by Shaik because his own finances were in a terrible mess and was therefore unfit to be president, Mr Zuma said “no president, no leader in the world” had been subject to this kind of examination.

“I’ve been in the ANC for decades,” he said. “I’ve had many responsibilities at different levels, including responsibility to handle money and nowhere could you find a record that I was unable to handle money.

“In any case, if one day the ANC says this man will be president, people are not judged by how they manage their personal finances. It is on their understanding of the policies and their responsibilities towards the country.”

Mr Zuma’s supporters are reported to be targeting weak ANC branches with propaganda material in an effort to build up greater support for his coming campaign.

Many South Africans are disappointed that huge numbers of people still live in poverty, despite the ANC’s 12 years in power. But Mr Zuma said the ANC had lived up to its promises. “You cannot resolve in a decade the problems of centuries. I think the ANC has brought stability and hope to people who never had it before.”

He defended the government’s affirmative action programme, Black Economic Empowerment, from the charge that it had merely enriched a small elite, many of whom were ANC members.

“Capitalism does not empower people equally,” he said. “If there was a deliberate policy to enrich a few, that would be wrong. But if those few are making it on their own ” that’s what capitalism is all about.” He said the government had done a good job of tackling HIV but admitted to mixed messages ” a reference to the health minister’s promotion of garlic, lemon and beetroot as being as beneficial as anti-retroviral drugs.

Source: The Telegraph (UK)
URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xm…/p>