South Africa and Zimbabwe

After coming back empty handed from China (probably under pressure from Obasanjo, with whom Beijing has signed an important oil supply contract), Mugabe looked again south to try and patch up the finances of the country he ruined.

Apparently, the conditions attached to the South African loan are:

A new constitution acceptable to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and including electoral provisions that would meet international standards of fairness and transparency; A fair and open programme of land reform to undo the negative consequences of Mugabe’s farm seizures and ensure productive use of farmland; Repeal of laws used to muzzle the media or to close newspapers and others used to silence or intimidate political opponents; and a credible programme for economic recovery, including the removal of structural distortions embedded in the economy and steps to end Zimbabwe’s isolation.

Mugabe promptly replied:

South Africa can "go to hell"

“If South Africa wants to help us in good faith, fine, but if they are trying to hold us to ransom then we won’t put up with that…

Authoritative sources said it was Mugabe's intransigence that had stalled progress in the past few weeks, but said the impasse was almost broken and South Africa would release an initial $450 million to $500 million (R3 billion to R3,35 billion) to help pay off Zimbabwe's arrears to the International Monetary Fund, with the remainder being used for urgent imports of fuel and food.

With the situation in Zimbabwe getting worse by the hour, such a riposte can only be justified by the fact that Mugabe knows very well that Mbeki will not dare push him too much. It is a pity because South Africa is now in an excellent position to exert pressure on the drooling fool at their northern border; unfortunately, and as foreseen by the sly Mugabe, it seems that Mbeki is skirting his responsibilities anew and getting week at the knees:

The sources said South Africa was not insisting on all this being done at once, but wanted an irreversible process of reform put in motion which would indicate the Zimbabwe government's seriousness.

This softly-softly approach has never worked and will never work with Mugabe, who sees it (rightly) as a sign of weakness:

MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube said Mbeki’s cash-for-talks deal would collapse because Mugabe was not serious. He said Mbeki had spoilt Mugabe by endorsing his stolen election victories and propping up his crumbling regime. “This loan initiative won’t take us anywhere in terms of resolving this crisis. Sometimes South Africa is naive because it thinks appeasing a dictator can cause him to reform,” Ncube said. “What the international community, including South Africa, should do is to further isolate and squeeze the Mugabe regime until it collapses.”

Exactly.

South Africa, Zimbabwe