A report in the South African edition of the Independent online paints a bleak picture of conditions at the once world famous Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town. It discusses the budget cuts, overcrowding and declines in the numbers of specialists and other medical personnel that have affected the health care the hospital is able to offer.

The most telling point, though, made by the UCT Medical Faculty head and Joint Chief Physician was that 10% of patients in the wards were refugees. For once not all of the causes of the ills of the South African health system may be attributed to the beleagered Minister of Health.

I have admired President Mbeki for his non-interference policy towards Zimbabwe even when the rest of the world was putting huge pressure on him to ‘sort’ out the situation in the neighbouring country. How he was supposed to do this depended on the country putting pressure on him, one imagines. Bush probably wanted him to roll the armed forces into the country.

The problem though is the human tragedy of starving people north of the border and the pressure this is putting on South Africa. A high unemployment rate in SA means that there are many South Africans who are living below the poverty line unable to find jobs to feed themselves and their families. Add to this a few million Zimbabweans in desperation creeping over the border and the country is at risk.

Every sector of society is threatened, from health services, housing to crime prevention. Contrary to countries in Europe where illegal immigrants have a reasonably easy existence and are able to blend into the work force, the same situation is not possible in SA. Where a country is struggling to adequately provide for its own citizens, accommodating millions of refugees is a disaster.

At one point it seemed that the SADC countries were going to put some kind of economic package together to assist Zimbabwe to get the economy going again. However, nothing seems to have come of that. It seems really counter productive to try and starve Mugabe out of power. He will continue to live well, it is the people who will suffer. Only the people of Zimbabwe can change the politics of their country.

What the rest of the world, including South Africa can do, is provide economic and humanitarian aid. One could call this a ‘Marshall Plan’ type idea adapted to the circumstances in Zimbabwe, similar to the aid Europe received after the second world war to rebuild its economies.

South Africa cannot continue to ignore the situation for the sake of its own people and the humanitarian crisis happening north of its border. It is really far too late for quiet diplomacy and quite frankly inappropriate. Mugabe will win the next elections again. So what. That’s no reason to allow millions of people to starve. After all Mugabe is not the only dictator around. I can think of one running a North American country.