Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2004
Alistair Thomson

Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, last week accused Mbeki's African National Congress (ANC) of promoting "kowtowing" and said its black economic empowerment (BEE) policies were helping only a small elite.

Mbeki gave a scathing response in his weekly letter to the ANC membership Friday, saying Tutu's comments on economic empowerment were "entirely false" and accusing his ally in the anti-apartheid struggle of resorting to "empty rhetoric."

The main opposition Democratic Alliance waded into the row Sunday, publishing a letter to the speaker of the National Assembly calling for a series of parliamentary debates on subjects raised by Tutu in the annual Nelson Mandela lecture.

In the letter, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon asked that Mbeki be invited to attend each of the debates, which would look at issues such as black economic empowerment and HIV/AIDS.

South Africa has more people with HIV than any other nation, and Mbeki's government has been heavily criticized for delays in rolling out life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs.

"These debates would provide the elected representatives of the people with the opportunity to lead public debate on the critical issues facing our nation," Leon said in a statement.

South Africa's black economic empowerment policies have prompted increasing debate in recent months, with opposition leaders saying a privileged few black people are growing super-rich while the vast majority stay poor.

Cyril Ramaphosa, a leading ANC figure who left full-time politics in 1997 to become one of the wealthiest beneficiaries of the BEE policies, welcomed debate on the issue.

"At the moment it (BEE) has some rough edges, but I welcome the debate and criticism. It enriches the efficacy of BEE," Ramaphosa, who sits on the ANC's national executive committee, told South Africa's Sunday Times in an interview.

Mbeki's public spat with Tutu -- highly respected for his role in the anti-apartheid struggle -- comes at a time when he is facing criticism from trade union federation COSATU over government policy on neighboring Zimbabwe.

COSATU, a member of the ANC's ruling alliance, has spoken out against the policy of quiet diplomacy to deal with the political and economic crises in once prosperous Zimbabwe.

ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama renewed the party's attack on COSATU Sunday, branding its leader Zwelinzima Vavi "reckless" and his comments as "toxic," "heedless" and "impetuous."

"We hope that this will come to an end and we hope that the leadership in general of the alliance will take note of this because it has not gone unnoticed in the ANC," Ngonyama was quoted as saying by the South African Press Association.

The disputes leave Mbeki facing opposition on the home front at a time when he is busy jetting around Africa and further afield trying to promote the continent overseas and help end armed conflicts in countries like Ivory Coast and Burundi.

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