South Africa FIFA World Cup and the Zimbabwea political situation

An interesting account of the Zimbabwea political situation and potential ramafications for the 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup.

Mbeki's world crumbling for defending Mugabe
8 September 2008
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

ZIMBABWE - HARARE - President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is edging closer to serious trouble that could see him facing the wrath of South Africans over his failure to objectively handle the Zimbabwean political crisis for finding a solution, and now risking his country being stripped of the right to host the 2010 soccer World Cup. In that context, one of the serious issues of concern is the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe.

Mbeki has really backed himself into a cul-de-sac by fatuously maintaining a supportive and defensive approach towards his handling of an intransigent Zanu (PF) regime headed by Robert Matibili Mugabe.

As the SADC appointed mediator on the Zimbabwe crisis, Mbeki has, shockingly, gone out of his way to block censure and punishment of Mugabe but yet without any workable solution coming out of his infamous quiet diplomacy strategy.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter in July stated that he had a Plan B based on three countries he had already advised and obtained commitment from to be able to step in and take over in the event SA fails to host the tournament.

ZimDaily has it on good authority that FIFA, who are keeping a keen eye on developments in SA and SADC in general recently sent a secret investigation team to the region with particular interest on Zimbabwe and how the situation in this country was affecting the whole region.

A damning report casting aspersions on the Zimbabwean issue was submitted, triggering desperate deliberations between FIFA, the SA government, soccer leaders as well as business.

The broader international community, particularly the west, which has been at loggerheads with Mugabe for close to a decade, is also deeply involved in the deliberations.

"Mbeki has been forced to explain the situation, particularly by his government, SA business as well as the 2010 organising committee," a highly placed source in Mbeki's administration told us in confidence.

"He managed to get another chance by promising that there would be a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis and seemed to have made a substantive breakthrough when he succeeded in having the Zimbabwe leaders to sign the MoU in July.

However, his two-week deadline has long elapsed and everything now points towards a serious confrontation over the matter."

FIFA secretary general, Jerome Valcke has in the past weeks made several correspondents to Mbeki through the SA organising committee, showing the deep concern over the situation in Zimbabwe.

"There is concern over the security situation in the SADC region because of the political situation in Zimbabwe and questions are being asked on whether this presents a conducive environment for hosting the tournament," one of the correspondents leaked to ZimDaily states.

It is for this pressure, coupled with a groundswell of grumbling within his government, which has been forcing Mbeki to spend most of his time recently trying to scrap a settlement between Mugabe and his nemesis, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

"Mbeki's last hope is beating the announcement by FIFA that an alternative host would take over, otherwise he knows what awaits him in SA," a member of the ANC, SA's ruling party said.
We also spoke to sources within the SA 2010 organising committee, and one of them said, "It is unimaginable that after all we have put together and sacrificed, the finals may be moved to another country.

The amounts put into the preparations are too much to go down the drain." A massive R5 billion is estimated to have already been spent on the preparations.

But it is in the ANC that Mbeki faces the worst prospects and harshest reprimand if the soccer tournament goes because of his "playing with Mugabe"

The troubled SA leader was given the loud message by ANC that he was no longer popular at Polokwane last year when he lost the party's presidency to Jacob Zuma, with whom he is engaged in a multi-faceted political battle often turning ugly.

"The Zuma ANC will relish an opportunity to skin Mbeki alive and that shall be very possible if the worst comes to happen around the soccer world cup issue," an SA diplomat based in Harare told us. "They (the Zuma ANC) are already seeing this coming and busy sharpening their knives for a final kill."

With unprecedented hyperinflation approaching 30 million percent, under the iron bondage of a dictator, Robert Mugabe heading a military junta and one of the worst levels of humanitarian crisis in peace time, Zimbabwe is simply a bad destination for anyone.

SA has already made it clear that it would need the serious involvement of its neighbours in hosting the teams and fans that are expected for the soccer finals, including Zimbabwe.

But not only is the impoverished country doing nothing as way of preparing infrastructure and other requirements, it is actually further sliding backwards under the current situation.

Above all this, the major concern is the political chaos Mugabe causes in and outside Zimbabwe, as recently epitomised by massive demonstrations in SA, Botswana and other SADC countries against the geriatric dictator.

"FIFA shall never take that risk for anything. There is no way the west will accept to attend the tournament under such as political situation," our SA diplomat source privy to the goings-on told us.

On Monday we reveal how Mbeki now considers ditching Mugabe to avoid the above-explained trouble, a possibility that could bring a new twist to the Zimbabwean political issue.
Zimdaily