P e r s p e c ti v e

extract from MMS Service 16-July-01

The favours Bob might have done for SA  16-July-01
 As the dust settles over the now totally evacuated ground that was the scenes of the short lived land grab near Kempton Park for a fort night, one can reflect on the fact that, because the event was so dissimilar to the land-grabs in Zimbabwe, the Mugabe version might have taught us what to look out for by way of danger signals. Firstly, Mugabe mangled his own constitution. The South African government has stood by its own. Secondly, the Zimbabwe situation was cold blooded by comparisons to the more innocent wondering onto a piece of waste ground, which happened at Kempton Park. Thirdly, the Mugabe revolution has centered around rural redistribution amongst rural people, while the brief South African experience has been about per-urban and urban people looking for a place in the sun. But Bob’s biggest gift is that he created the crass backdrop which made people take Kempton Park more seriously than they might otherwise have done.   

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e c o n o m e t r i x 16-July-01