Workshop Nov 2004 - Outlook for South Africa

Notes from November 2004 Workshop. Three charts were used in this compilation: Inauguration 1994, Inauguration 1999, Thabo Mbeki's natal horoscope.

§ Major theme#1: economy … huge amounts of foreign direct investment, strong, bouyant, subject of national focus, energetic, largely due to the efforts and insights of the president as mentioned before. (A:Sun tr Jup EBP, B:Merc sx Mars, B:Sun cj Merc). Applies to rest of 2004 and 2005. The political focus on the economy shifts in 2006 as progressed Moon moves from 2nd into 3rd house … attention now turns to education, universities, transport infrastructure, etc.
§ Major theme#2: crime rate … notwithstanding assurances to the contrary, 2005 hosts and unprecedented rise in corruption and violent crime. (A:Pl opp Mars, B:Nep sq Moon). Sadly, the focus is so much on the economy and the rich getting richer, that any sympathy for ordinary people suffering from this malaise is drowned by the clanging of Kruger rands. The other factor to consider is the differential between rich and poor magnifies, which only exacerbates the crime situation.
§ Major theme#3: First quarter 2006 … tough time for the government and Mbeki in particular. There is frustration. Heavy burdens of state. Nothing seems to be working out. The cabinet is not achieving anything. A: Moon is void of course and B:enters via combusta. No crisis. Just difficulties.
§ Major theme#4: 2nd to 4th quarter 2006 sweetness and light. A very gentle, peaceful vibe. The calm before the storm. Parliament is operating well, strong approval ratings from the people. It appears that nothing much can go wrong. If SA was a person, she’d be falling in love. (Nep tr Venus, 11th house ref)
§ Major theme #5: There seems to be a political crisis of some sort that strikes towards end 2006 and dominates 2007 and 2008. It is in the making for quite some time before this but no-one realises the depth of the threat until it is too late. The pressure on Mbeki is enormous. He gets it from all sides. Internally, within the ANC there are moves to dilute his authority (B:Nep sq Sun). Externally, the political opposition puts the boot in. (ASC-p sq Pl). He is exhausted. It seems to be connected to a major crisis in foreign policy/foreign relations. The whole mess intrudes quite deeply into 2008. There definitely appears to be a leadership crisis, within the cabinet, within parliament. The chart for 1999 inauguration which also serves as Mbeki’s personal odyssey as president, has the Moon going void from Oct 5 2007 through to November 2008, barely 4 months or so before his term would have ended anyway. We have to ask ourselves the question, given all the above, given the adverse indicators in Mbeki’s own natal chart, will this president complete his term in office? Or will this political crisis intervene to force his resignation or retirement in some way?
§ Whatever happens, SA has been served by a very talented man who can take personal credit for the excellent state of the economy, as much as Mboweni and Manuel might be the direct recipients of the accolades.
§ Interesting quirk: constitutional chart for Feb 3 1997, Moon-p void end 2009 and remains so through to April 2011.