Word: africas
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...similar resistance around the world. In 2001, ethnic-minority lawmakers in the former Yugoslavia complained that a short-lived truth commission had appointed too many majority Serbs, which, they argued, was an inappropriate demographic to investigate massacres of minorities that took place during the 1990s. Some victims in South Africa claimed that nation's truth commission - set up to investigate massacres and disappearances of the country's majority blacks in the second half of the 20th century, and widely considered a model for future ones - was politically convenient, so former leaders who committed rights abuses would not be jailed...
TIME: What mistakes specifically? Zuma: Take the old ministry of minerals and energy. Mines are what [have] shaped the economy of South Africa, it will always remain an anchor of this country - and so it needs its own focus. Energy is also critical for the country. But they were in the same ministry. And as we were experiencing economic growth, and rolling out electricity to rural areas, suddenly there was an electricity shortage. That must indicate weakness. And if we did not see that, that energy was going to be a problem, that points to a shortcoming...
TIME: Admitting errors, taking a pragmatic, results-based approach, those are not things Africa's liberation movements have always been good at. In fact, as their time in power goes on, many have become more vociferous in blaming their mistakes on the past and old enemies. I'm thinking particularly of Zimbabwe. Are you jettisoning that liberation movement baggage? Zuma: Nobody can deny that when Zanu-PF [Robert's Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front] came on the scene, there was a lot of delivery, in health and remarkably in education. But what they lacked is what...
...important to have a system that keeps you on your toes. This huge party must find a way to monitor itself vigorously. If there are non-performers, we'll take them out. Otherwise the party will end up unwieldy and in a mess.(See pictures of South Africa after 15 years of ANC rule...
TIME: How do you merge your African heritage, being a proud Zulu who values his traditions, with being the leader of Africa's most westernized nation? Zuma: It's not a problem at all. Things merge well in South Africa. Our constitution embraces equality of culture and language. They must be respected. We do not deny that we have different people in our country. We have a lot of diversity. But we also have unity in that diversity. That diversity is also our strength: our nation is a place of meeting of cultures and of ways of life. We want...