NPA must still appeal!!!

 Mbeki made his speech and in it appeared more statesmen like that we have seen him for some time. The speech I think did much to calm some of the panic that clearly would have been created and demonstrated that he is significantly more poised in situations than perhaps one gave him credit for in the past.

Two issues that stuck out for me was his assertion that nobody within the executive have interfered with judicial process, even if it was felt that these were not beneficial to the country. I am not sure that I agreed given that many commentators in the past have highlighted subtle and sometimes not so subtle digs at the judiciary.

The next was the particular reference to the NPA and the Jacob Zuma trial, and once again the assertion that no political agendas had been promoted in the course of the investigations. While this is clearly difficult to prove currently I am sure that you will find that very few people would agree with this.

This being the case, would it not be absolutely amazing for the ANC to come out and say that now that the politics have been removed from the case, perhaps Zuma can go to a trial in a more fair environment. I am not sure that this will happen, but one can always hope!

The financial commentators seemed only to pronounce on the speed of the decisions and actions and not really on the actual the outcomes, hinting that they have already priced in the regime change.

The fact that the financial markets have not pounded us for the moment is good, but I am sure that this will be a reason to use in the future. In the greater scheme of things you can understand why. Clearly the almost one trillion dollars that have been pumped in or guaranteed to support the financial markets, by central governments around the world, may have some impact on this.

I am looking forward to watching this space in the next days. Mbeki has created the option which causes the least aggravation for the ANC party. The next measure is going to be how inclusive the ANC really is in terms of the politics it is about to play. The potential level of interference in terms of the judiciary that may be run will be critical.

Once again I re-iterate my view that the opposition politics of this country is uniquely position to take advantage of the rift that exists within the ANC. While this move might be viewed as the healing of the party, the course of events to follow will determine the success of the party in the future. Who knows, as I said in my post on Saturday, perhaps this will be the NEC of the ANC that goes down in history as forever change the politics of South Africa, all for the sake of finding a political solution for one man.

I am sure that Zapiro’s pen must be itching ……………