Tendai Biti gives hard-hitting analysis of the state of Zimbabwe
Former Zimbabwean finance minister Tendai Biti has warned that SA "must literally and metaphorically not cross the Limpopo". "You do not want it," said Biti, speaking in Johannesburg at an event organised by The Daily Maverick and Nandos, two days after former president Robert Mugabe resigned following a "soft coup" by the military. He was referring to Mugabe’s 37 years of authoritarian rule. Biti, a prominent lawyer and a member of the opposition, was finance minister during the short-lived government of national unity. He warned that the presence of the military on the streets of Harare proved that Zimbabwe is still a securocratic state. "What happened last week [to Mugabe] was a recall of someone who was no longer acting for the securocratic state," Biti said. He said South Africans should be proud of their Constitution, while also praising the Constitutional Court judgment of the UDM v Speaker of Parliament, in which the court found that the speaker does, indeed, have the discre...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.