President Thabo Mbeki rejected mounting criticism that he has mishandled crises such as the anti-foreigner rampages at home and the political violence in Zimbabwe, declaring Thursday that his government had made remarkable strides and would not be used as a pawn for the West.
Mbeki, who steps down next year after a decade in power, was long one of Africa's most respected statesmen.
But he increasingly is seen as a lame duck president whose legacy will be tainted by the failure to narrow the gap between rich and poor, dent unemployment, or act decisively on rampant crime and the AIDS epidemic. Newspaper editorials are saying it's time for him to quit.
By contrast, Jacob Zuma _ who ousted Mbeki as head of the African National Congress in December and is likely to become the nation's next president _ is being treated with growing respect at home and abroad, even though he stood trial two years ago for rape and faces charges of corruption and fraud.
Zuma has dropped his favorite anthem, "Bring Me My Machine Gun," in favor of diplomatic speeches. He held talks Thursday in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao as part of a visit to China and India.
In a speech at the end of a two-day debate on his presidency, Mbeki said South Africa had made dramatic progress since the end of apartheid in 1994.
"What our country has been about in our years of liberation has been to give itself a new birth _ not merely new houses, and new clinics, and new schools, and new roads, and more jobs, and much else besides but also a new national entity, of equal citizens in a nonracial society," he said.
Mbeki said his critics were "content to curse the darkness while making absolutely no effort to light the candle," and used Zimbabwe to illustrate his point.
He said his priority was to help Zimbabwe find a solution to its economic meltdown and political crisis through dialogue and negotiation rather than imposing a solution from abroad.
"We will continue to insist that the people of Zimbabwe must have the possibility freely to choose their leaders and Government and refuse to participate in projects based on the notion that we have a right to bring about "regime change" in Zimbabwe," he said.
"There are some farther afield from us who choose to describe us as a so-called 'rogue democracy' ... because we refuse to serve as their subservient 'klipgooiers' (stone-throwers) against especially President Robert Mugabe," he said.
South Africa has tried to block U.S. and British attempts to put Zimbabwe on the U.N. Security Council agenda, saying the crisis is not a threat to international security.
Mbeki, the main mediator on Zimbabwe, has refused to criticize Mugabe, despite the mounting violence against opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters and the detention of its leaders in the weeks before the June 27 presidential runoff.
Helen Zille, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, said Mbeki's weak remarks merely underlined that he should quit as mediator.
"The time has come for President Mbeki to stop attacking governments and individuals who express concern at the developments in Zimbabwe and turn his attention toward the real villains," she said. "A public rebuke of President Mugabe may not be enough to save Zimbabwe, but it may be enough for South Africa to salvage some national pride."
During the debate, the white-dominated Democratic Alliance and smaller opposition parties accused Mbeki of lack of leadership.
They cited Mbeki's defense of his police chief, who is accused of corruption; his failure to tackle crime, which claims the lives of more than 50 people per day; his denial of the AIDS epidemic killing some 900 South Africans per day; and his mishandling of xenophobic attacks which left 62 dead.
They said the government should have acted years ago to prevent the current electricity crisis, which has shattered hopes of reaching the 6 percent economic growth target deemed necessary to halve poverty and unemployment of 24 percent by 2014.
Mbeki retorted that South Africa had overcome its problems in the past and would do so in the future. He said leadership was a collective responsibility.
Political analyst Aubrey Matsiqhi said Mbeki had a good economic track record and had boosted South Africa's profile on the world stage. But he said Mbeki should heed the message delivered by ANC members at the December congress that voted to elect Zuma.
"In December, his party felt he was not good enough to continue as its leader," Matsiqhi said. "I don't understand why if there is a groundswell of support for him to step down, why they should not get their wish."
