Unfortunately your right, SA isn't doing anything to stop the chaos in Zimbabwe....and the reason, our government isn't providing a good official reason why not. But the answer is probably old politic ties. Back in the day when Apartheid was still in effect in SA, and Zimbabwe was still called Rhodesia, it was only with the help of an alliance with political party's in Zimbabwe that the ANC was able to overthrow apartheid (but that is only a VERY small part of the story). What I can tell you is that many of the ministers in the South-African government is old war-veterans that fought side by side with Mugabe and that is most probable reason why are so slow to respond to turn against Zimbabwe.
Your right, South-Africa certainly was successful up until now, in comparison with other African countries. But one must ask why, and the reason is most probably a combination of factors. One thing that one has to keep in mind is that about a 150 years ago, most African countries, and their people indigenous people was quite literally still in the stone-age, and haven't even heard of a little invention called the wheel. South-Africa had about a 200 year head start, because of the trade that came around its coasts (which don't have to go though other African countries btw), and with its discovery of gold and diamonds a lot of westerners came here, speeding the process of educating people and bringing riches with them. My point is, the world is trying to catapult the rest of Africa from a stone-age culture into the 21st century within a very short period of time, and the only way to be successful, I believe, would be to educate the people of these countries by any means possible. So, Yes, I believe it is possible for the rest of Africa to stabilize. These countries need a culture change, and a shift perspective of what knowledge van offers them. It can be done, like in South-Africa, but it takes time and a lot of patience. But until that day comes, chaos will still rule in Africa. In my opinion anyway
I totally agree with ImustDIE but one should never underestimate the potential impact that education and the accessibility to knowledge can have on a nation. Just look at what a difference the press made to society in general. Look at a country like the Zimbabwe where the press is completely regulated by the Government, and all the false propaganda is put in the papers, and the people there has no choice to believe them. With proper internet connectivity and education, a dictatorship like that of Pres. Robert Mugabe would most certainly be almost impossible.
As a South-African citizen I believe that progress is finally taking place, I also believe that South-Africa specifically is on the verge of a dramatic internet boom.
Hopefully, other sub-Sahara country's will follow, but also learn from our mistakes.
Up until a few years ago Telkom, the monopolizing, mainly government owned telecoms operator was the only company in South Africa that was allowed, by law, to provide landline-based services and VOIP was illegal. Since the beginning of the new Government in 1994 the tale of South-African public internet-connectivity has been a long and tragic tale that has been told many times over. (check hellkom.co.za)
But finally we are beginning to see some progress : Telkom now has a competitor, Neotel, and since their licensing, broadband prices started to fall dramatically, and it is continuing to do so. Telkom claims that it will have 1 million broadband subscribers by 2009 and for us, although most people are skeptical, that is a HUGE leap forward.
With our growing economy and WIMAX just around the corner, proper broadband internet connectivity might just become one of the most successful tools for education, and most experts these days agree that education is the best weapon that we can use to fight our problems like HIV/AIDS and crime.
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Unfortunately your right, SA isn't doing anything to stop the chaos in Zimbabwe....and the reason, our government isn't providing a good official reason why not. But the answer is probably old politic ties. Back in the day when Apartheid was still in effect in SA, and Zimbabwe was still called Rhodesia, it was only with the help of an alliance with political party's in Zimbabwe that the ANC was able to overthrow apartheid (but that is only a VERY small part of the story). What I can tell you is that many of the ministers in the South-African government is old war-veterans that fought side by side with Mugabe and that is most probable reason why are so slow to respond to turn against Zimbabwe.
Your right, South-Africa certainly was successful up until now, in comparison with other African countries. But one must ask why, and the reason is most probably a combination of factors. One thing that one has to keep in mind is that about a 150 years ago, most African countries, and their people indigenous people was quite literally still in the stone-age, and haven't even heard of a little invention called the wheel. South-Africa had about a 200 year head start, because of the trade that came around its coasts (which don't have to go though other African countries btw), and with its discovery of gold and diamonds a lot of westerners came here, speeding the process of educating people and bringing riches with them. My point is, the world is trying to catapult the rest of Africa from a stone-age culture into the 21st century within a very short period of time, and the only way to be successful, I believe, would be to educate the people of these countries by any means possible. So, Yes, I believe it is possible for the rest of Africa to stabilize. These countries need a culture change, and a shift perspective of what knowledge van offers them. It can be done, like in South-Africa, but it takes time and a lot of patience. But until that day comes, chaos will still rule in Africa. In my opinion anyway
I totally agree with ImustDIE but one should never underestimate the potential impact that education and the accessibility to knowledge can have on a nation. Just look at what a difference the press made to society in general. Look at a country like the Zimbabwe where the press is completely regulated by the Government, and all the false propaganda is put in the papers, and the people there has no choice to believe them. With proper internet connectivity and education, a dictatorship like that of Pres. Robert Mugabe would most certainly be almost impossible.
As a South-African citizen I believe that progress is finally taking place, I also believe that South-Africa specifically is on the verge of a dramatic internet boom. Hopefully, other sub-Sahara country's will follow, but also learn from our mistakes. Up until a few years ago Telkom, the monopolizing, mainly government owned telecoms operator was the only company in South Africa that was allowed, by law, to provide landline-based services and VOIP was illegal. Since the beginning of the new Government in 1994 the tale of South-African public internet-connectivity has been a long and tragic tale that has been told many times over. (check hellkom.co.za) But finally we are beginning to see some progress : Telkom now has a competitor, Neotel, and since their licensing, broadband prices started to fall dramatically, and it is continuing to do so. Telkom claims that it will have 1 million broadband subscribers by 2009 and for us, although most people are skeptical, that is a HUGE leap forward. With our growing economy and WIMAX just around the corner, proper broadband internet connectivity might just become one of the most successful tools for education, and most experts these days agree that education is the best weapon that we can use to fight our problems like HIV/AIDS and crime.