Bombshell!

News just out - The ANC has asked Thabo Mbeki to step down as president of South Africa. He will resign as soon as all the procedures have been attended to. We knew they were discussing the possibility but it still comes as a bit of a shock. He has often been an absentee ruler, running around sorting out the problems in other countries while we have serious issues that need his urgent attention right here. He appears to have been something of a "visionary" ito Africa but suffering from short sightedness ito the real crises here at home. Small matters like HIV/Aids; crime; poverty and unemployment. Actually maybe "blind" would describe his condition better. That said, there is an unnerving silence from the ANC as to who will actually run the country while all the red tape is being sorted out. Let's hope that this will be a positive thing for us - my hope right now is that Motlanthe (I think thats how you spell his name) will step up. He is the one person that all political parties speak well of. And the only politician (besides Helen Zille, who leads the opposition) who actually answers directly the questions put to him. Which makes him a phenomenon Other good news is that our fine Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, is to stay on - so the economic situation will, hopefully, remain fairly stable. But Zuma looms large in the picture: if he does come to power, we can only hope that it is true that he has had a bad press because of various political agendas. God bless South AFrica!