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Moeletsi Goduka Mbeki (born 30 November 1945) is a South African political economist and the deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, an independent think tank based at the
University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...
, and a political analyst for Nedcor Bank. He is a member of the executive council of the
International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...
(IISS) which is based in London. He is the younger brother of former President
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...
and son of ANC leader
Govan Mbeki Govan Archibald Mvunyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001) was a South African politician, military commander, Communist leader who served as the Secretary of Umkhonto we Sizwe, at its inception in 1961. He was also the younger son of Ch ...
. He has been a frequent critic of President Mbeki.


Career

Moeletsi Goduka Mbeki has a background in journalism, with a resume that includes a
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Fellowship is a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. It awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman ...
and time at the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. He worked for The Herald newspaper as a journalist while in exile in Zimbabwe.He often acts as a political commentator in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and is the author of a paper titled "Perpetuating Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa", published on 30 June 2005 by the International Policy Network. He was a media consultant for the ANC in the 1990s, and is currently the chairman of
Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...
South Africa, a TV production house, and KMM Review Publishing and Africa. He has also been director of Comazar, which rehabilitates and grants concessions to railway networks in Africa. In 2003 it was revealed by John Perlman that the SABC had blacklisted a lot of political commentators and that Moeletsi was one of them, possible due to his political views. Moeletsi generated some controversy when he said that Africa was governed better under colonial rule than today. (See October 2007 in rail transport). In October 2006 Moeletsi Mbeki applied for an order to have Jonathan Moyo jailed the next time he visits South Africa. He has been known to oppose certain Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deals in South Africa and has written articles for the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...
, a USA-based
libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
think tank. With his book ''Architects of Poverty: Why African Capitalism Needs Changing'' in 2009 he triggered a debate about governance, ethics and moral values in African governance processes.


Controversies

Although more recently known as a critic of black economic empowerment (BEE) policies and corruption, one of the main sources of Moeletsi Mbeki's wealth was a BEE deal linked to South Africa's controversial Arms Deal. Mbeki reportedly shared a 25% BEE stake in the South African subsidiary of British armoured vehicle company Vickers Defence Systems. Chippy Shaik, whose brother Schabir Shaik was separately convicted for corruption linked to the Arms Deal, was reportedly pivotal in influencing procurement to favour Vickers Defence Systems and therefore Mbeki. Chippy Shaik was accused of accepting a bribe but never prosecuted. Vickers was later taken over by BAE Systems, likely leading to a large windfall for Mbeki and his partner Diliza Mji. Mji was a former treasurer of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and the defence parastatal Armscor. Moeletsi Mbeki was sued by employees when a think-tank he founded, the Forum for Public Dialogue, ran out of money and retrenched the employees.


Other activities

*
International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...
(IISS), Member of the Advisory CouncilAdvisory Council
International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...
(IISS).


Writings

* Moeletsi Mbeki: ''Architects of Poverty. Why African Capitalism Needs Changing'', Central Books, April 2009, * Moeletsi Mbeki: ''Advocates for change. How to overcome Africa's challenges'', Picador Africa, 2011, He has written many articles about the political and economic situation in South Africa,
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
and the rest of Africa.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbeki, Moeletsi Living people 20th-century South African economists Nieman Fellows 1945 births 21st-century South African economists